The Flower and The Flame
by LostWolfCub
Summary: This story fallows a girl named Ayame. She's been running from everything her whole life, even from herself. That is until she's sent to live with her brother in the very peculiar city of Ikeburkuro. When she's caught in the webs of the events of the city that tie everything together will she be able to remain who she is or will she have to adapt in order to survive. (Complete)
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! or any of the characters from the anime. Also this fic if rated M for violence, dark story lines, language, and maybe a lemon haven't decided on the last one.**

The girl who didn't seem to care about anyone, including herself, found herself in a very strange situation. She had stumbled across a man laying in the middle of a dark ally bleeding out through a wound on his side and another from his leg. This man happened to be in the path on her running rout, and running was about the only thing she did care about. If this man died here it would cause this ally to be a crime scene and that would interrupt her running rout.

She knelt down next to the man and dug around in the back pack her brother insisted she keep with her. Lucky for the man the girl's over protective brother made her carry a first aid kit, as well as a knife and a few other items. Those were his terms for letting her run alone at night.

The girl felt queasy as she lifted the man's shirt enough so that she could examine the wound. It seemed there was a bullet embedded in his skin. She pulled up the sleeves of her overly large hoodie and as quickly as she could she taped a bandage over the wound and wrapped some gauze around wound in his leg. To the girls surprise the man was regaining consciousness. A normal person would be out until they had proper medical treatment.

"Here let me help you." She stood and reached her small hand down to the man, she really wanted to finish her run but it would be trouble if she let the man die.

"Thanks but I don't need your help." The man stood up a little unstable and looked around and then down at his wounds, "I've been shot."

"Yes you have. Now shut the hell up and let me help you. It's not a hospital but I know a place near by that can treat you. The bullets are still inside I just tried to slow the bleeding." The man's face contracted with annoyance for a second at the girls words. She ignored this and pulled one of the mans arms over her slender shoulders, she wasn't quiet tall enough to much help, "as payment for helping me would you please not tell the man I'm bringing you to where you were shot. The ally that is, I think the wounds are pretty obvious."

The man looked down at the girl, his blond hair hanging down in his face. He was used to help not being free, but it was an odd request. Despite the oddness he gave a nod in agreement not feeling up to talking just yet. It appeared to him that they were heading in the direction of a friend of his, why this small girl would know his friend he wasn't too sure he wanted to know.

Once they arrived at an expensive looking apartment building the girl left the man in the elevator and pushed the correct button to get him to the doctor, "I'll meet you up there." She gave the man a wide smile.

The man gave the girl a confused look as she took off towards the stairs. He was mildly surprised to see the girl leaning on the wall outside the elevator when the door opened once more, "Oh good you didn't die on your way up here." She smiled at the man again her emerald green eyes shining in the light. He didn't know why but there was something about that smile that pissed him off, it seemed like a lie.

Before the man could protest the girl had pulled his arm over her shoulder and was leading him to a door. He knew this place it belonged to the perverted doctor Kishitani Shinra. The girl didn't bother with knocking instead just choosing to open the door and lead him inside.

"Shinra I found a patient for you!" She called out to the white haired man than was sitting upon the couch.

"What kind of stray did you bring home this time Ayame?" His playful voice replied before his eyes widened at seeing just who she had brought with her. "Shizuo! What happened? How are you even walking?"

The injured man who was addressed as Shizuo straitened himself and walked over to the couch, "A couple men shot me! This girl patched me up a little but said the bullets where still inside."

"Ayame why didn't you retrieve the bullets before covering the wounds!?" The doctors voice was a little winey as he gathered the tools he needed.

The girl didn't reply as she was far too busy trying to wash the blood off her, scrubbing her hands raw. Instead of replying she threw a metal cup at Shinra's head. He knew that blood was something that normally made her pass out and was curious about why she hadn't just left Shizuo where she had found him.

"So you got shot and decided to pick up a chick on your way up?" Shinra gave Ayame a look as he spoke telling her to be quiet and gave Shizuo a smile.

Shizuo proceeded to crush the cup that had landed near by, "She wouldn't leave me alone!"

"So what happened anyway?" Shinra was working on getting the bullet out of his leg.

"Well I thought I had just slipped in the rain, but when I woke up I realized there was blood coming from my leg and my side. I was going to kill the men who had shot me but they had ran off before I was able to get to my feet."

"Pretty dumb huh." The doctor was talking to another girl that had walked up behind Shizuo looking concerned.

"Do you want to live?" Shizuo glared at the doctor and leaned forward.

"I'm sorry!" The doctor jumped away from the threat and bowed him head.

"Just fix me up already I've got to go kill the bastards who did this to me."

"No you need to rest!"

"No they're dead! And the ass hole who ordered it Masaomi Kida!" the aggressive blond hit his hands together.

The girl that had joined the two talking made a beeline for the door and ran out before anyone had the thought to stop her.

Shinra went to chase after her but ran back to Ayame and handed her a syringe, "Please make sure he rests!" and then proceeded to run out of the door after the girl.

A few minutes had past in silence before the man stood up. Before he could get too far the girl got in his way, "No you need to rest."

"I'm gonna be fine now get out of my way!" Shizuo was starting to get really annoyed.

"You're just going to open your wounds!" Ayame hopped onto the arm of the couch so that she was just a tad bit taller than Shizuo. She took a deep breath before she could talk herself out of it and kissed the man.

The man had never thought that anyone would want to kiss him, let alone out of the blue, and was momentarily forgot about what he was doing. Ayame used her chance and stabbed Shizuo in the neck with the syringe that the doctor had given her and pushed the plunger down.

The man pushed her forward so that they both landed on the couch, "what the hell was that!" His world was starting to darken.

"I'm sorry but I had to make sure you rested." She gave him that smile that pissed him off again.

Ayame, being much smaller than Shizuo, was trapped under the man who had fallen unconsicous once more. For some reason she knew that he wouldn't be out for too long but hopefully it would be enough. She wasn't sure what compelled her too but she found herself running her hands through the mans soft blond hair.

At some point Shizuo came to again a little confused about why he was being embraced. The girl who had tricked him had apparently fallen asleep once she realized that she couldn't move the muscular man off herself. The hood on her hoodie had fallen away revealing an almost perfect complexion and a gentle smile. If the man hadn't known better he would have thought he'd fallen asleep on a life sized doll.

"Shizuo." The normally playful voice of the doctor was cold as he spoke, "just what did you do to my little sister while I was gone?"

"What do you mean what did I do? She's the one who freaking stabbed me in the neck!" He removed himself from the tangle of limbs he had become entrapped in and stood up, "Wait since when did you have a little sister!"

Shinra relaxed a little a slightly distant look on his face, "I suppose for a while now. She lived over seas until about a year ago otherwise she would have been a grade below us. She lives here with me and Celty."

Shizuo suddenly remembered that he was out for blood and ran out the door to get back at the men who had shot him. Luckily he checked his phone as he ran and discovered that his main target had been framed and where to find his new one. Celty pulled through for him this time.

That was the first time that the girl who cared more than she knew and the man who was quick to anger met each other. Neither of them knew that from this day on their fates had been intertwined.


	2. Chapter 2

What makes an idividual who they are? Is it they way they differ from everyone else, or it how they use that difference that make them who they are? What happens to the person they are now when ever they change? Does it die or is it berried deep down, a building block on who they will someday become?

It had been several weeks since their fateful encounter. The girl and the man had wrote off the whole thing and returned to life as normal, or well as normal as their lives maybe.

 _Be careful today, I'll be back to pick you up when your shift ends_. A woman in all black wearing a helmet held a phone out to Ayame as she balanced her motorcycle. Ayame, who had just hopped of the bike, tuned her attention to the woman holding the phone.

"I'm always careful aren't I?" Ayame gave the woman a smile adjusting the straps on her backpack before heading into her place of work. The call of a horse sounded in the night as the woman known as the black rider drove off into the night.

Meanwhile the man Shizuo was walking with his employer through town his hands in his pockets. A stranger with a death wish attempted to pick his pocket as he walked by in the crowd.

"Petty thief!" Shizuo grabbed the closest object to him, which happened to be a road sign, and swung it at the man who had snatched his wallet. He must be new to town otherwise he never would have been so stupid.

The thief realized too late just who he had tried to steal from. He lay on the ground as Shizuo picked up his wallet and continued on his walk with his employer. The thief had gotten off easy, this time. He would have to make sure to never cross paths with the man dressed as a bartender again.

"I've had reservations at this new place for a while. It took a while for the server I was recommended to become available would you like to come with?" A black man with dread asked sounding a little hopeful. This man was his employer and they had both just finished their jobs for the day.

Shizuo shrugged his shoulder and nodded. He might as well, he was getting hungry.

"Tom we're going to eat at one of these ridiculous places?" The annoyance was clear in Shizuo's voice as they stood outside of a maid cafe.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. The food's supposed to be good and our server is said to be one of the most beautiful women in Ikeburkuro, though for some reason she's never been seen outside this cafe." Ton smiled as he opened the door.

Shizuo gave a sigh, he had already come this far he might as well eat while he was out. Plus at this time of night the only other place opened would be Russia Sushi and he wasn't in the mood for that. The sight that greeted him gave him a little bit of a start, which didn't happen often. A girl with familiar emerald eyes smiled at them as they entered the building. She filled out her maid outfit well without any of her assets being too distracting. With her petite frame, curves, and pale skin he was reminded of a doll.

"Welcome back masters! Right this was please." She smiled and turned around leading them to the reserved table, the ruffles of her dress dancing against the back of her thighs.

Ayame hopped that the man she had helped before hadn't recognized her. Once she had seated the two she bowed her head and spoke in the ridiculous way she was paid to once more, "How might I serve you today masters." she tucked her shoulder length hair behind her ear.

The man she didn't know and the one she had seen bleeding both stared at her for a moment before telling her what they wanted to drink. She gave a smile before heading off to help her next customer.

Shizuo growled in slight frustration. He knew he had seen those emerald eyes before but he couldn't figure out where he had seen them. Maybe it was nothing but an itch in his brain told him that he knew that girl, not that it really matter either way. One of the men at another table had asked her for a number which she surprisingly gave them. When she returned with their drinks he couldn't help what came out of his mouth next.

"You know it's not safe to give your number out easily?" He wasn't sure why he said it or even why he had the desire to protect this girl. Maybe it was just because of how fragile she looked.

"I give out a number if you really must know master, but if it's mine I won't tell." She winked and placed the drinks on the table wishing to throw the glass in the man face instead. "It's easier to give someone something, even if it's not exactly what they want, than to deal with them when you refuse to give them anything." She took a breath hugging her tray close to her chest. She despised getting a lot of attention the only reason she worked here was because they paid her triple what they paid any where else.

"Have you decided what you would like to eat tonight masters?" She smiled waiting for their orders.

"I'll just have a hamburger and fries." Shizuo placed his menu on the table as his employer ordered the same thing.

"I'll be back with your food soon, or else I'll be punished." She gave them a coy smile before walking away. She really didn't like how they made her talk here.

Everything was going smoothly with her shift until a familiar fur line sleeve caught her eye. She couldn't stand that man! He had seated himself at one of the back tables and was waiting patiantly for her to take his order. Of course it had to be one of her tables! How did he get in without her having to greet him. The owners gave her the option to refuse to serve someone at the door so she could have avoided the whole situation.

She held the serving tray close as she walked over to where the snake sat, "Hello how might I serve you today master?"

A man with short black hair, light brown eyes, and a devilish smile greeted her words, "Hello darling I'll have the usual today, and your hand in marriage of course."

She resisted the glare she wanted to give the man and smiled at him, "I'll bring it right away though I politely refuse your other request."

As fast as she could she ran to the back to turn in his order and pick up the food for her other tables.

"I hope everything is to your liking masters. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask I'm yours to command." Ayame smiled as she sat the food down infront of the man with blond hair and the one with dreads. She gave a small bow meeting the blonds eyes on my way up and felt a very slight heat in her cheeks before moving on to the next customers. She hope she wasn't getting sick.

"I think she liked you." Tom, Shizuo's boss, normally didn't dare tease Shizuo but he seemed to be in a relatively good mood.

"I think you need to get your eyes checked." Shizuo grunted as he began to eat his food. He could have sworn he heard the rats voice. Maybe he was imaging it but just the thought of that bastard irritated him.

"Here you are master I hope everything's to your liking." She placed a steak, medium rare, infront of the man who watched her every move.

"The only thing not to my liking is the fact that you're not mine." He smiled wickedly.

She glared at the imp before her for a moment before forcing the normal happy pleasant look she usual wore, "I think your much too busy of a man to be thinking of me. After all information can be a hard thing to stay on top of." She smiled at his some what surprised face.

Izaya smiled, he loved people especially the ones who were able to surprise him. Little did he know that the girl walking away from his table wasn't the only one who would surprise him that day. Luckily for him he had sat himself near the rear exit of the store so that when the events that were about to unfold happened he would have a quick escape.

"I swear I heard that rats voice again!" Shizuo had bent his fork in a rage.

"I didn't hear anything." Tom shrugged, he also hadn't been paying attention either as he placed their payment on the table.

Today was not Izaya's day for he happened to stand up at the very same time that Shizuo's party stood up. Instantly Shizuo was met with a blood lust to kill the bastard known as Izaya, he was in such a rage that he forgot to grab his sun glasses off the table.

"Who would have thought I would find you in a place like this!" Izaya grinned widely backing his way to the door behind him.

"I thought I told you to stay out of Ikeburkuro!" The only thing on Shizuo's mind was to kill the man backing away from him."

Ayame didn't seem to sense the danger coming from the blond haired man as she slipped a small key and a note into his back pocket. There was a pause in his rage as he reached behind him and he withdrew the object.

"I locked the door because I thought it'd be amusing. If you kill him don't leave the body in the ally please." It seemed that he wasn't the only one who hated Izaya. Normally Shizuo would object about being used but just this once he thought he could let it pass. The look on Izaya's face changed from terrified to excieted as he realized his exit had been locked. This was definitely not a boring day.

Suddenly Izaya was flying through the air as his once blocked exit became open. The unfortunate barricade held onto the wall with on one hinge after being opened too hard. Ayame watched as the two vanished into the night pleased with the way it had turned out.

"I'm so sorry! We can ban him from the store if you like?" The manager ran up to Ayame assume that the encounter had shocked her.

"Actually I think I would quiet enjoy him coming back, it might be a good source of pest control." She smiled at the managers confused face and went to clean up her now empty tables. When she came to Shizuo's table she noticed a pair of sunglasses had been left behind. Shinra seemed to be friends with the odd bartender maybe he could return them to him. When her shift ended she ran to the back and changed into her over-sized hoodie and jeans.

The black rider pulled up as Ayame was leaving the Cafe. No noise escaped the bike as it pulled up next to her.

 _How was your day?_ The woman in black held out a phone.

"It was fun. I got to see Izaya run for his life." Ayame smiled at the woman.

 _Really? That's why he was in a foul mood when I met back up with him!_

"Awe so he didn't die." She sighed a little disappointed then shrugged, "how was your job, besides the end?"

 _It was a little hectic but it went smoothly._

"Can I go out for a run later?"

 _You're asking?_

"Thought I'd give it a try." Ayame shrugged them noticed the blond from earlier walking up the side walk, "I'll be right back!" Without waiting for the headless woman's reply she ran off towards the man who was in the cafe earlier.

Shizuo glared down as someone in an over sized hoodie approached him. He wasn't in the mood to deal with anything right now. This person must be an idiot, his glare didn't make them run away. His frustration was growing as they began digging around in their pockets, where they going to pull a weapon on him?

"I think you forgot these." Emerald eyes met his as the hooded character looked up and held out his sunglasses to him

"Who are you again?" He knew he had seen this girl before.

"I'm no one really but if you must have a name it's Ayame Kishitani." She waved at him as she jogged back over to were Celty was waiting patiantly.

It wasn't far before the two riding the silent bike passed by an ally where a group of men where heading into. This was pretty usual for the city except for the fact that the men held a wriggling bag. Ayame's eyes widened these were the men who were leaving dead animals in the ally! Before she could decide it was a bad idea she stood up on the bike and jumped hitting the ground running. The one thing she couldn't stand was those who hurt animals and she couldn't stand by while one was beat to death!

The black rider wrestled her familiar back under control, the sudden force of Ayame jumping off had almost made her crash. What was that girl thinking! She could have killed them both! The black rider tilted her head to the side as she came to a stop and turned around as soon as she could, something had to of caught the girl's eye to make her act like that.

"If you must hurt something hurt me." Ayame wedged herself in between the assailants and the small puppy they had brought with them.

"Just move you little bitch." A muscular man grinned at her, he would give nothing more than to strike her now but his friends might turn on him.

"Yea don't make us hurt you." A younger male, probably in high school, tried to make himself look bigger than he actually where.

The other mean stared in silence prepared to jump when their boss told them too, blood lust in their eyes. Ayame kept smiling and picked the puppy off the ground and tucked it in her hoodie being careful to not move it's broken legs.

"Hit me all you want I won't let you hurt this poor thing again." She smiled at the men who began to circle her. She was completely defenseless, she held her arms around where the puppy was in her hoodie as one of the men struck her in the side with a bat.

She didn't flinch, even though she knew a few bones broke, and never stopped smiling. They wouldn't be able to kill her, the people at the lab made sure she would be very hard to kill if someone wanted to get rid of her. The others soon joined in hitting her with various object, eventually bringing her to her knees. She was covered in her own blood and yet the smile on her face never left her.

"Why won't you stop smiling you freak!" The group was beginning to get uncomfortable.

Suddenly the shadows came alive knocking the men away from the small girl. A giant ball hung suspended in the air, the screams of the men who once surrounded her came from within.

 _Are you ok?_ A screen appeared in front of her and a hand touched her shoulder.

"The bones will take a little bit to heal but I'm fine. We need to get this little guy to Shinra though, I think his leg is broken." Ayame pulled the puppy she had kept safe out of her hoodie and showed him to Celty, as she held the puppy she became aware of the blood on her arm.

 _Let's get you both home._ The black rider's screen was the last she saw as she passed out, she really didn't like the sight of blood.

What makes you who you are? Are the actions you take what determine this, or is it the things that you won't let stand that define you?


	3. Chapter 3

First impressions are normally what sticks in a person's mind, that's why they're so important. For example, a man throwing a vending machine could be considered a monster while a girl who looks petite and emotionless could be considered a doll. These first impressions are very difficult to over come but sometimes the illusion is shattered.

Shizuo had been running from a group of individuals who claimed they beat up their boss' daughter. Once again he had been framed for something he didn't freaking do because of who he was. Like he'd ever beat up a chick. He scoffed jumping from roof to roof in his attempt to get away from his pursuers. He really wanted to kick their asses but there was no point to senseless violence. He made the mistake of looking back to see if they were still there when he ran into someone. Who the hell was on the roof top? Both he and whatever he ran into toppled off the roof.

Ayame found herself suddenly falling. She hadn't came to the rooftop with jumping on her mind but here she was free falling towards the pavement. Death wasn't really something she feared, she also didn't wish to die either. If only she had gotten her run in before she had fallen then she would probably be content with what was happening.

"Shit!" There was a painful pop in her shoulder as her decent was halted, "sorry about that." She looked up into kind brown eyes and sighed, at least it wasn't Izaya toying with her.

"It's all right, thank you for saving me." She smiled up at her savior as he pulled her into his arms and jumped down onto the ground.

"It was kinda my fault you fell." Shizuo shrugged, the sounds of shouting reminded him that he was being chased, "will you be ok on your own? I think I popped your shoulder out of place when I caught you." He felt bad for hurting her but there wasn't any other way he could heave helped her. Dammit he should have been paying more attention.

She held her arm out strait and hid her grimace with a smile. She lined up the joint with her good arm and then proceeded to ram the injured shoulder into the wall popping it back into place. The man looked at the girl in slight shock. He couldn't tell much from the large hoodie she wore but she looked tiny, fragile even, but she had popped her shoulder in place without so much as a noise of pain. Being someone who was injured often he knew dislocated joints weren't very pleasant.

"This way." She gave him a wicked smile, "Your avoiding them right."

"Yeah." He wasn't sure how to handle the girl who stood before him.

The hood of Ayame's hoodie fell off as she looked up at Shizuo. Bright green eyes hypnotized him for a moment and before he knew what was going on he was be pulled out of the ally by his hand, "Keep up."

Ayame gave Shizuo a wicked grin as she said this, not many people could accomplish the task she gave him. She didn't give him a chance to protest nor did she release his hand as she took off through the streets at a sprint. She lead the confused man across traffic heavy traffic and then down some seemingly random allies. The man's body was able to keep up with the girl while his mind was still trying to catch up with what was going on, and where the hell they were going. Finally Ayame slowed down to a jog and looked back at the man, joy dancing in her eyes. If there was one thing she cherished in this world it was the feeling you got when you ran.

"This way." She pulled his hand once more and led him though a narrow pathway that connected two allies together, from there she led him behind a dumpster and finally let go of his hand. She knelt down and crawled through a hole that was in the wall without giving any more direction. If he wasn't to fallow he would if not he should be far enough away form the people chasing him.

Shizuo couldn't help but feel a small since of loss when the hand that was holding his realeased it. He wasn't sure why this small girl was helping him once again. Most people considered him a monster and tended to avoid him for the most part. Once her feet had vanished into the wall he crouched down and fallowed, his shoulder scraping the edges of the tunnel. On the other side was an abandoned warehouse, there were a lot of these on the outskirts of Ikeburkuro. This one appeared to be sealed from the outside so the entrance they came in from was probably one of the only ways to get inside without breaking their way in. Faint moonlight shone in from the boarded up windows, now enough to see great but it was enough.

Usually he didn't tire easily, then again he didn't usually run that far at a full sprint either. He sat down on the ground with his hands behind him. He would be able to figure out what the hell was going on here without being discovered. His temper was a little sharp, he was hot and nothing was making sense today.

"Sorry for dragging you into this mess." He pulled out his phone thinking about who he should call first.

"Let's just say that makes us even for you saving me earlier." Ayame pulled off her hoodie and sat down with her back against Shizuo's. It had been a warm night, and the running hadn't helped that fact.

Shizuo was a little shocked at first when the girl sat down behind him but after a moment decided he didn't mind. "It was kind of my fault you fell off the roof in the first place." Maybe he should call Shinra.

"That's true but you didn't have to catch me either. You could have just," She paused as her phone started buzzing, "sorry I should take this." It was her brother.

"You rang?" She asked still leaning against Shizuo's back.

"Hey so you might not want to come home for a while. Celty went to go pick up dad a while ago." Shinra sounded a little stressed.

"I really don't feel like getting dissected so I'll take up your offer to stay away." She wasn't sure where she would stay though. The hotel distract could be a little sketchy, hell she couldn't even go out without dressing in over sized clothes to avoid attention.

"Oh if you're still with Shizu-chan can you hand him the phone please?" How did Shinra know she was with Shizuo? Then again he brother seemed to know most of her whereabouts anyway.

With a shrug she held the phone out behind her, "It seems it's for you."

"Hello?" Shizuo was suspicious as he took the phone from the girl.

"Some people were here looking for you earlier. I convinced them that they had the wrong guy since you would never beat up a woman. Also what are you doing running around down hand in hand with my little sister?" There was an unusual malice in his usually happy voice.

"I was being chased by some idiots earlier and ran into her. She helped me escape, thanks for clearing that up by the way." He wasn't sure what to make about Shinra's unusual tone of voice. The only time Shizuo could remember him getting mad was when someone had insulted Celty.

"Ok good I wanted to make sure you weren't doing anything naughty with her." His malice turned into teasing as he resumed to his normal temperament, "she has a habit of getting into trouble. Hey is there anyway I could get you to look out for her the next couple weeks?"

"I don't know." Shizuo didn't want to end up dragging the girl into any of the trouble he usual got into, "I'm not really the best choice for that am I?"

"I think you are. Also do you know any place she can stay for a while?"

"Well...I guess she could stay at my place I've got a spare bedroom. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep an eye on her though." His job kept him busy for most the day when he worked, plus it seemed she was capable of taking care of herself if needed,

"As long as you don't try to take advantage of her that could work. Thank you! I'll have Celty bring over some things later on." There was a click on the other side of the phone as Shinra saved his hear from the yelling that was sure to fallow.

A wave of irritation swept over Shizuo, he was already pissed off. Like hell he'd ever take advantage of a chick! He had to stop himself from snapping the phone in his hand, and instead handed it back to the girl behind him.

"Shinra said you need a place to stay for a while? I told him you could crash at my place but that's up to you honestly." It was the least he could do, after all this girl had saved him some serious trouble on two occasions now.

"You would let a stranger into your home?" Ayame was confused. He knew nothing about her so why should he want to help her. There was a moment of suspicion as well but she dismissed it, Shinra must have asked him and if her brother was willing to trust him then it should be fine.

Shizuo shrugged, "Like I said it's up to you."

"Thank you." Her voice wavered slightly before she cleared her throat a little. She wasn't used to kindness from others, besides her brother and Celty that was.

"Are you hungry?" All the running today has made him work up an appetite.

"A little yea." The girl stood up and stretched, "I've gotta do something before we go though."

The man tilted his head back and looked at the girl. Now that he could see her clearly there was no mistaking it his was the girl who worked at the maid cafe. No wonder her brother was so protective of her. She was someone who would get noticed and that wasn't always a good thing, especially in this city. The girl walked over to her discarded back pack and pulled out a plastic container and a flat dish.

"I'll be right back!" She smiled and jogged over to a far corner of the warehouse and shook out some cat food into the dish. There was the sounds of small mewing as a cat timidly crept into view.

Ayame smiled as the black cat she had been secretly caring for came into view. The cat's stomach had been swollen with pregnancy the last time she had seen it but she must have given birth recently. The timid cat brushed the girls leg in thanks before she began to eat the food that had been given.

Ayame slowly back away so as to not scare the cat and returned to where Shizuo was. He was standing now with a cigarette in his hand. Something about the fact that he wasn't staring at her relieved her. She hardly ever took off her hoodie when she wasn't at home in fear that she would become someone's prey. She wasn't sure about staying with this man but she had no other choice right now. She may be able to stay with Anri if this doesn't work out but she didn't want to bring trouble to anyone she didn't have to. At least this man had the strength and will to defend himself if needed. Anri had strength but she didn't have a desire to use it unless she had no other choice.

Ayame put her hoodie back on and then the backpack, "I'm ready when you are."

"Have you ever been to Russia Sushi?" Shizuo asked as he finished his cigarette.

She shook her head then realized that he wasn't looking at her, "No I haven't eaten there before."

"I'm not sure where we are exactly. Could you get us back to the main part of the city?"

"I think I can manage that." She smiled and she took the lead in going through the hole in the wall.

Without waiting for him to make it back into the ally she took off at a light run towards the main part of town. She wasn't in too much of a hurry so she took the long way back resisting the urge to full out run. It was odd to have someone beside her as she ran, there was a warmth too it that she wasn't sure what to call. Almost similar to what she felt when Steven was around. She shook her head slightly, those were not thoughts to think about. She had brought them to a park before stopping and looking over at Shizuo.

"Oh hey you brought us right to it." He pointed to a large building with a giant out front.

"Hey Simon." Shizuo waved his hand in greeting as he passed, the giant guarding the entrance returned his greeting. His accent was something that Ayame had never heard before.

There were a few other customers in the shop but most of them were in booths off to the side. Shizuo seemed to know the black man who was sitting upfront at the bar so they proceeded to go sit by him. Tom stared at the girl that was walking next to Shizuo. Those eyes, she had to be the woman from the maid cafe! How did this guy manage to get all the girls and not even realize it! He sighed as they struck up conversation.

"I'm going to use the restroom real quick." Ayame stood up and picked a random direction to go in, she didn't feel like asking.

"Other way miss. Down that hall and to the left." The shop owner pointed down and aisle on the opposite side of the bar.

"Thank you!" She smiled at the shop keeper and bowed her head before heading off in the direction he indicated.

"So how did you manage to get a beauty like her?" Tom was curious if Shizuo was hiding any secrets he didn't wanna share with his boss.

"Her and her brother kinda saved my ass earlier so I'm doing them a favor and letting her crash at my place for a while." Shizuo rubbed his eyes it was getting pretty late.

"Some guys have all the luck!" Tom sighed and leaned back in his chair in mock defeat.

Shizuo shrugged at this statement. He wasn't sure what Tom was going on about if he was being honest with him self. He became more alert when there was a loud crashing sound from the direction of the bathroom. Ayame had what looked like a broom handle in her hands and was backing up with it blocking someone's hits. Once they were in view Shizuo noticed that her attacker was non other than their new hire Verona. He wasn't sure if he should step in or not, Ayame seemed to be holding her own against the Russian female. Which surprised him, Verona was both strong and really quick.

Ayame wasn't much of a fighter but she was fast. Unfortunately it seemed that her attacker was also fast and knew how to fight. The blond woman had came out of nowhere saying she had dibs on killing Shizuo and began assaulting her. Ayame wasn't sure what that man had done to make this crazy woman want to kill him but she also didn't know why she was being attacked.

Ayame used her make shift weapon to block the woman's hits and kicks, occasionally having to duck or jump back to avoid one. It took a lot but she was starting to get pissed off at this strange woman. Once there was an opening she struck out and hit the woman in the ribs and brought it back into defensive position. She had hit her target but had been stabbed in the process. Her arm stung slightly and she adverted her gaze. Suddenly her feet left the ground and she was flying!

The giant from outside had grabbed the back of her hoodie and the back of the other females shirt and lifted them into the air. "Violence is bad. Scares customers. Should be happy have sushi!" He smiled at the two.

"Verona it's rude to attack customers and bad for business don't do it again." The shop keep had a scary vibe to him as he spoke. This was not a man to mess with.

"Yes sir." Verona was frustrated as she glared at Ayame. Her ribs and her pride stung.

Ayame let out a small squeak as she slipped out of her hoodie and fell on her ass. Verona found herself a little shocked. That tiny frail looking thing was able to match her? Wait there was something wrong, her eyes looked at the girls arms and couldn't find the place the knife had connected. Was that girl not human?

Ayame gave her assailant a smile and then looked up at the giant who handed her back her hoodie. Before she could get it back on a girl with a newspaper boy hat approached her.

"You really are her!" Suddenly Ayame felt arms around her that were way to friends. "I'm sorry I'm Erika Karisawa. Would you come cosplay with us someday! You look amazing in your maid outfit by the way. Hey Walker it's really her!"

"WHOA! This is the first time we've seen her outside the maid cafe! Are you here to take us to another universe! Oh oh oh..." The two went on as Ayame looked at Shizuo for the first time without a smile. She was looking for help and didn't know how to ask for it.

Shizuo couldn't help himself and started laughing. The girl who had just matched Verona in a fight had been defeated by Erika and Walker. He couldn't help but think that the look of confusion on her face was better than the smile she usual wore. It was a real expression.

"I'm going to head home for the night. I'll see you tomorrow Tom." He stood up to go save Ayame but the shop owner stopped him.

"Bring girl sometime. She would be good for Verona maybe good for girl too." He looked over at the odd girl who had wondered into his shop. Those green eyes weren't natural nor was her healing ability, but she was undeniably human.

"Sure." Shizuo was a little confused as the why the shop keep was making such a request. He wasn't in much of a position to tell him no but it would be up to Ayame if she went though. He assessed the situation Ayame was in and smiled a little. He reached in between the Erika and Walker and picked up the small girl and slung her over his shoulder, "let's get going."

Ayame was confused as to why once again she was being picked up again. She looked back as everyone who was left in the shop seemed equally shocked by what was going on.

It seemed that the man who always got in trouble was someone who trouble found. He was called a monster by most of the people in the city but he might just have the kindest heart of all of them. The girl that seemed like a doll seemed to be less fragile than she appeared. It would take more to shatter her than what was first thought. Sometime people don't like up to their first impressions and sometimes that manage to rise above it.


	4. Chapter 4

For some the unusual is normal. Things that are different don't normally bother these people but sometimes they wish to understand. Sometimes there's a desire inside them that they can't explain. They want to understand the things that are so unusual for this world, but sometimes they don't want to be understood.

There was a plate waiting on the kitchen counter. It consisted of an omelet, some bacon, and rice. This had been the ruetin that the two had fallen into. Ayame would leave a home cooked meal for Shizuo on the counter and there would be a dinner when he got back from his job. He hadn't really run into the odd girl since she had come to stay with him and even wondered is she was staying there or else where. This had continued for a week but today seemed to be different.

Shizuo was a little surprised to see Ayame leaning over the sink scrubbing a pan. She was in a tank top with her hair tied back, a scar was visible running across her shoulder blades. Shizuo walked over to where she was and leaned over to grab the pan from her. Not only dies she cook and clean up after herself, she kept his usually empty fridge full. He wanted to try and help her in someway. To his annoyance she moved the pan away and glared at him slightly.

"Nuh-huh" she shook her head, "your food will get cold." She tried to look him in the eyes but ended up squinting and looking away as the sun shone in them.

Shizuo was slightly annoyed but shrugged it off and went over to where the plate she left him was, "Thank you for the food." He watched as her shoulders relaxed slightly and began eating silently. She was a surprisingly good cook, you couldn't find anything like it in the restaurants around here.

Ayame blinked trying to see. She had extremely good night vision but when it came to anything more than artificial light she was blind. She scrubbed the pan running her fingers over it until it felt smooth and rinsed it off. She usually avoided being awake when the sun was up but work had been hectic and she had fallen asleep once she had gotten back to Shizuo's place and woke up a few hours earlier.

"You're good with animals right?" Shizuo's voice got the girls attention.

"I think I'm better with animals than I am with people." She closed her eyes and smiled at him before turning her back and ran a towel over the pan.

"Would you mind tagging along with me today we could use your help with some of our jobs." He had told the shop keeper than he would ask.

"You might get unwanted attention because of me though." She felt an odd desire to go with him but at the same time knew it would be a pain in the ass if she did.

"I'm used to that." He watched the girl as she moved away from the counter. The way she was moving was odd she had her arms outstretched and she ran into the chair before carefully sitting on it. "Are you ok?"

"I've got a high light sensitivity. I'm basically blind in the daytime." She fell into her usual smile that pissed him off, "but if you don't mind I don't really have anything else to do so I can tag along."

Shizuo couldn't help but feel bad for asking. If he had known she was blind in the daytime he wouldn't have bothered asking then a thought crossed his mind. He had seen the girl only at night and with as beautiful she was it wouldn't be a stretch, "are you a vampire."

The question caught Ayame off guard and caused her to laugh. "I can see why you would think that but no I'm not. I had a friends that was though." Her mind wondered as she thought of him. Of his screams of pain and the way she couldn't help him, couldn't even help herself. She shook her head and smiled then looked down feeling a little odd, "Can you help me to the room or at least to the hall way?"

Shizuo thought for a moment watching the rare emotions cross over the strange girls face. Usually she just kept the smile that pissed him off on but this time he saw a glimpse of sadness and frustration. He wanted to ask about it but knew he probably shouldn't, if she wanted him to know she would have said instead of kept quiet. At the girls request he walked over to her and picked her up causing her to squeak. He had surprised her but once the girl realized what was going on she put her arms around Shizuo's neck to make herself easier to carry. Shizuo felt a slight warmth in his face his heart rate increasing as little as he carried the girl towards her bedroom. The irritation that was building earlier seemed to instantly vanish.

Ayame blinked a little as she was gently placed into her room. "Thank you." She smiled as he was released and walked over to the night stand. She opened the drawer and pulled out a long black strip of cloth and wrapped it around her head covering her eyes. The cloth was thin enough that she could see through it but thick enough that the light wouldn't reach her eyes. She pulled a baggy long sleeved shirt over her tank top and grabbed her back pack.

"I'm ready whenever you are." She smiled at Shizuo who was still standing by the door way, "don't be concerned I can see with this on."

Shizuo gave Ayame a skeptical look. Blind folds weren't meant to help you see but whatever works he guessed. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away making sure to keep the girl in the corner of his eye. It seemed that she could indeed see with that thing over her eyes.

They stopped by the door to put on their shoes before heading out to meet Tom and Verona. The two didn't feel the need to fill the silence as they walked. Ayame noticed that Shizuo was keeping an eye on her but for some reason it didn't bother like it did when Shinra watched her. The blond man made her usually cold heart feel warm and she wasn't sure what to think of that.

Tom watched in somewhat shock as Shizuo walked down the side walk, a blind folded chick walked next to him. He hadn't expected for the girl to actually come on their job with them, let alone show up looking like that. In their line of business attention wasn't necessarily a good thing. What he found the oddest though, was the way that Shizuo's eyes would drift over to the girl every once in a while. In his history of knowing the man he had never once seen Shizuo take an interest in anyone, let alone a girl. Tom couldn't tell if the girl felt the same way about Shizuo but he wouldn't defiantly be cheering for him.

"Why is girl here? And why is she with Shizuo?" Verona couldn't explain the tightness in her chest or the Irritation that the girl gave her.

"She's staying with Shizuo right now. As for why she's here Dennis requested she come along sometime." Tom was a little afraid of the blond girl at the moment. He wasn't sure what her interest in Shizuo was but this was going to make for a very long day.

"Hey Tom, Verona." Shizuo waved an arm in there air in greeting a lit a cigarette. He glanced over at Ayame and gave her a small nudge with his elbow when she did greet his coworkers. She seemed more awkward around people then so he wasn't sure if she was being rude or just wasn't sure what to do in the situation.

"Hello." She smiled at the two people they had approached and shot a glare at Shizuo. She didn't really want to say hi to the woman who had tried to kill her.

The two greeted her in return. Tom and Shizuo walked next to each leaving Ayame and Verona to fallow. Neither female liked this arrangement but neither of them would complain either.

"So where are we starting today?" Shizuo asked unaware of the tension of the two fallowing him.

"Umm." Tom glanced back at the girls nervously, "Well we don't have a lot to do today. 3 of them have guard dogs and the other one is the owner to a dojo." He looked down at the addresses trying to ignore what was going on behind him.

Shizuo glanced back making sure that Ayame was still doing ok. It seemed that the blind fold really didn't impair her vision as they walked down the side walk, though it was getting a few stares. "Let's leave the dojo for last."

Tom resisted groaning. He hated collecting debts from people with guard dogs, they always made it difficult. Plus having two newbies on the job was really going to make it that much harder to deal with. Tom sighed and listed off the nearest address, it was only a couple blocks away.

"How can you see with that on?" Verona asked breaking the silence.

"How can you see without it." Ayame didn't feel much like playing nice and couldn't help feeling like she did something wrong when Shizuo glance back at her. She knew she should have walked behind him instead of Tom.

"I don't understand your answer." Verona frowned a bit, she did not like this girl.

"I can't see well when there are bright lights." Ayame was saved from having to communicate for a bit as the sound of barking came into ear.

"That's the first place." Tom groaned. There were two big guard dogs standing up by the gates. Their teeth were bared in a silent growl and their ears were pointed forwards.

Ayame slipped in between the two males that where standing infront of her, causing them both to stare at her in shock, and walked up to the larger of the dogs. The dog flattened his ears and began to bark at her. Ayame sat down a little ways infront of the dog, scooter a little closer, and put her hand out for it to smell. The dog proceeded to bite her hand and help on for a while.

Shizuo's arm tensed. What the hell was she doing! He watched in slight bewilderment as the girl didn't react at all to being bit. The dog that had bitten the girl whined and licked the wound it had created. With her uninjured hand she reached in her bag and brought out two pieces of rawhide and offered one to the dogs infront of her. Shizuo was a little shocked when both dogs took the treat.

"I'll wait here if you don't mind." The girl looked back with a smile, it was almost believable with the blindfold on.

"If you had treats why no give to dogs first?" Verona spoke up.

"They wouldn't have taken it." Tom answered for Ayame as she scratched on of the dogs ears.

"They have been trained to only accept food from their master or someone they trusted. Once the more dominate of the two accepted that I could be trusted the other would fallow. It's kind of like humans, you wouldn't eat food someone you didn't trust gave you would you?" Ayame didn't bother looking at the other female as she ran her hands over the dogs head.

"Come on lets get this over with." Shizuo was deep in thought as he took the first steps past the dogs. If what Ayame had said was true then that would mean he trusted her? Well she had given him no reason not to. Shizuo glanced back at the girls wounded hand and crinkled his brow a bit. There was blood on her hand but no wound was visible. He didn't like when things didn't make sense.

The door to the house flung open hitting Shizuo in the face, "what have you done to my dogs!"

Without even realizing Shizuo had lifted the man up and threw him down the stairs so that he landed in between the dogs and the remainder of his team.

"I think the question is what have you done to them." Ayame stood up both dogs at her side growling at the one they called their master. The bastard was stuck in between Shizuo and his once trusted dogs.

Tom was unsure of what to do in this situation, as he too was stuck in the middle of everything, and cleared his throat getting the frightened mans attention. "About that debt you owe."

"Here take it! Just don't kill me!" The man threw whatever was in his pockets and ran back to his door way. Once the man was shut back inside Tom began counting the money in his hand and shook his head. This was almost twice what the debt was.

"How did you do that?" Shizuo looked down the stairs at the girl as she scratched one of the dogs head again.

"Kindness does something to those who have never known it." The smile was on her face but Shizuo thought her could see spots that where darker on the blind fold as if she had been crying. This did not help his mood at all.

To the relief of everyone involved that had been the most difficult job they had to face that day. They did run into some trouble at the dojo though. They men had tried to attack Ayame and Verona but Verona took them out single handedly. It seemed as though she didn't like being shown up by the other female.

"Verona and I can take the money back to the boss." Tom usually delivered it with Shizuo but considering his foul mood it would be good to get away from him for a bit.

"You sure?" He looked over at Tom who nodded.

Verona looked like she was reluctant to fallow but didn't speak up as he was lead away from the two. Shizuo wasn't sure what to do he was so annoyed at everything and couldn't make since of any of it. The girl that stood next to him stumbled and bumped into his arm and in small touch all his anger melted away. This girl could be dangerous in a way that he never would have imaged. He was in so much shock that he didn't even notice the figure in black pull up infront of them.

Celty waved her arm in the front of his face to get his attention. It must be important for her to do that. He watched as she began typing furiously and held out her phone. Before he had a chance to read it he felt a tug on the arm that had been ran into.

"Can you read it allowed. I can see the screen." There was a bit of color to Ayame's cheeks as she spoke and she wasn't sure what to cal the sensation.

"She says the hunters are near. Does Shizuo know what you are?" Shizuo read what Celty wrote and then looked down at the girl next to him.

"He doesn't know and I'm not too keen on changing that. Though I guess if he gets stuck in this mess he deserves to know why." Ayame bit down on her thumb. Hunters where bad. The scary kind of bad.

"Be careful. Shingen say's that they have your file. He'll be sticking around to observe the situation for a while longer." Shizuo was getting very tired of this conversation, "What they hell are you two talking about!"

There was a small pop and Ayame felt a sharp pain in her side. I was too late to explain. The group found themselves suddenly surrounded by people in wolf masks each with a different weapon. This would not end well for anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

"When we get out of this I promise I'll explain everything." Ayame took off her black cloth that was over her eyes and tied it around her waist where she had been shot. The pain kept her from passing out at the sight of her own blood. Twilight had fallen so she was able to see at least a little bit in the dim lighting.

"I'm going to hold you to that." Shizuo grinned, this was something he could do. He didn't care for violence but he was good at being violent.

One of the men in the wolf mask held out a phone to Ayame silently telling her to take it. She glared at the man with suspicion and took the phone.

"Last chance, are you sure you wouldn't rather be my wife than to play house with that monster." Izaya's voice sang into the phone. Of course that snake would have something to do with this! She didn't give a reply instead choosing to throw the phone against the wall nearest to her. Like hell she would ever be that creeps wife!

That must have been the signal for the masked men to attack because they all moved in at once. Shizuo grabbed a dumpster and threw it knocking out a couple members of the group. Celty and Ayame both did what they could do to dodge their attackers. Ayame hissed as a knife ran a crossed her arm and stared at it for a second as white foam started coming out of the wound. Shizuo saved her from another strike by throwing a man into the one infront of her.

"Celty don't get cut!" Ayame turned to inform the headless rider of their predicament but noticed that she had a foaming gash on her right leg. Apparently she had discovered that their weapons were dangerous.

There was a large puff of shadows that came out of Celty's neck as she knocked Ayame to the ground. Shizuo had found a light post and was swinging it at what was left of their attackers. It seemed that he had done most of the work and ended up being the only uninjured person.

"Whoa that looks bad." Shizuo was looking at the injured women, it was slowly getting deeper, "what the hell was that stuff."

"Blessed silver and Purification salt." Ayame winced holding her side, it look a lot of pain for her to let it show.

 _We'll explain later we have to go now!_ Celt held up her phone to Shizuo.

He looked over at the shadow horse that was usually a bike, "I'll meet you home?" It would take him a little longer but he could walk there pretty quickly.

 _Can't wait that long, we're going to need you're help getting the bullet out. Ayame's small enough we should all fit. I can't use my shadows right now so we'll have to go on horse back_. Celty's leg burned as she walked over to shooter. Her familiar sensed her pain and knelt down to allow her to get onto him easier. Once she was on Ayame got on behind her with Shizuo sitting on the back. Celty was nervous about how warm the girl behind her felt and held her phone out behind her for Shizuo to read.

 _Don't let her fall!_ With that warning she took off as fast as she was able to her home where Shinra was.

"I'm sorry." Ayame looked at the blood on Shizuo's shirt as he carried her up the stairs to her brother's apartment.

"For what?" His brown eyes looked down at her, he had lost his sunglasses during the fighting.

"I've gotten blood on your shirt." White was a difficult color but if it was bleached right away maybe it could be saved.

Shizuo shook his head a little, of all the things to be worried about this girl was worried about bleeding on his shirt! If he found whoever did this to her they would be lucky if he stopped at just killing them.

"Your eyes are too kind for that look." Shizuo hadn't said anything but his intent was clear on his face. Ayame smiled through the pain at the man who was carrying her. She couldn't help but think that he looked much better without his sun glasses. Those kind brown eyes were easier to see this way.

Shizuo was shocked out of his rage once more. Kind was never a word used to describe him this girl must have lost too much blood. Celty slammed open the door causing Shinra to run and meet him. She typed on her phone furiously and explained the situation.

"Put her on the kitchen table! I'll go get my supplies." Shinra took off running in the opposite direction.

Shizuo was a little shocked as Celty knocked everything to the ground.

 _Can you undress?_ Celty held out her phone to Ayame, who's breathing was becoming rapid.

"You first." She had to pause, "it had to hurt you more."

 _Like hell I'm first I don't have this stuff in my gut. Now do I need to undress you or can you do it yourself?_

"I don't think so." Ayame winced as she was laid down on the table. Shizuo's face was full of worry.

 _Don't go anywhere! Anesthetic won't work on her and we need you to hold her still, I'll be right back with scissors._ The minute Shizuo was done reading Celty ran over and began digging through drawers.

He would have to hold her down? What they hell was going on! Shizuo's stomach turned at the thought of having to participate in that kind of torture, surely there was another way. He looked up as Celty returned and then looked away a faint warmth in his face. Celty was cutting strait down Ayame's shirt and pulled it aside.

"Shizuo can you help Celty get that off please." Shinra had came back with everything he needed and was busy prepping his tools and getting gloves on.

Shizuo nodded at Shinra's brisk voice and lifted Ayame off the table enough for Celty to be able to completely remove her shirts. This was not the way he would image undressing the woman in front of hims. He shook his head a little and stood back noticing that the girl's torso was riddled with scars.

"I was pretty so they didn't want them anywhere it would show." She winced as Shinra wiped the area around the bullet entry.

"Hey you said when we made it out of this you would explain everything. We'll we're not out of it yet." Shizuo wasn't really sure what he should do. They said they would need help but, he didn't get to finish the thought.

"Hold down her legs while Celty holds her torso still. It's very important she doesn't move!" Shinra waited until the two looked like they had a good grip on Ayame and gritted his teeth. Someone would pay for this.

Ayame gritted her teeth as Shinra cut into her stomach. Her legs flexed as she tried to curl up or get away from the knife. Shinra swore a little as she managed to pull a shard out of the wound, of course it couldn't just be a simple in out and out wound. They had used a light casing that had exploded once inside it's victume. Ayame made the mistake of looking at the wound and felt dizzy.

"Hey! Don't pass out! If you do your healing will accelerate and you'll absorb this into your body and will die. Shizuo dammit hold her still!" Shinra glared at the blond as his patient struggled against his scapulae. "And get her to talk about something!"

"Dammit I'm trying but I don't want to hurt her anymore than she is!" Shizuo glared at the doctor.

"It wont matter if you break her bones just keep her still!"

"How the hell can you say that!" Shizuo was getting pissed off.

"She will heal faster from a broken bone than if this spreads any farther than it does! And if I happen to cut into a major organ that could become problematic." Shinra was trying to keep his voice calm as he worked. He understood his friends worry, but in this case it only hindered things.

Shizuo growled in frustration and leaned more of his wait onto the small girl until she was unable to move her lower half, "How the hell did a girl like you get Izaya to want you to marry him?"

Shinra glanced over at Shizuo as he pulled another piece of bullet out of his sister and nodded. She needed to focus on something besides what was going on.

Ayame smiled even though she was in pain and gave a small laugh, "That's actually a funny story." She caught her breath for a second before beginning.

"It all began with an internet forum. I had heard rumors of this guy who was tricking girls into killing themselves with him. In their weakest moments this guys would play with them and either drive them to actually killing themselves or get them to live through hating him. I enlisted Celty's help and planted a few fake blogs about how terrible my life was and that I wanted to end it all. Eventually the creep took the bait and we began messaging for a while." Ayame balled her hand in a fist and winced as Shinra had to cut the wound open again. There was a disadvantage of healing quickly sometimes.

"I met up with this creep as he put his fake kidnapping into actions. I knew I would be saved but I played along making sure that I could get him to show himself. Finally I was able to be face to face with the snake that had preyed on so many people. He made it too easy, choosing to meet on a roof top. I waited while he talked for what seemed like an endless amount of time until he was close to the edge and then grabbed his hand and pulled him off the edge with me. His face was priceless!

Celty was waiting with a net of shadows of course so I wasn't in any danger. When he asked me why I had done it I told him that life was about fighting and anyone who played with people while they were debating on giving up was worthless. He then proceeded to propose to me." Ayame made a face of disgust.

"Of course that rat would fall in love over something like that." Shizuo shook his head but found something inside him settled. So she really wasn't interested in him and was playing hard to get.

"I'm sorry for what I'm about to do. I've got all the fragments out but I have to flush the wound." Shinra felt his heart break a little bit. He didn't want to hurt his little sister but in the end it would be for the better.

Ayame took and deep breath and nodded. Shinra cut opened up the wound bigger to ensure that there wouldn't be anything left inside it and poured his cleaning solution inside it. Ayame screamed and pulled against her captors restraints. In her wiggling she had managed to free her leg and ended up kneeing Shizuo in the face causing his nose to bleed. Ayame lay still breathing heavily as Shinra dressed the wound and moved onto her arm. The wound was almost to the bone by now.

"You should have listened." Shinra ducked as Shizuo swung his at him, "I need your help one more time Shizu-chan. Can you hold Ayame's arm still while I clean in, Celty is getting tired." He gave a loving glance over to the headless woman.

At the sound of his nickname Shizuo relaxed, the danger was over. He jumped onto the table, not minding that he sat in blood, and pulled the girl into his lap. He held her injured arm so she wouldn't be able to move it.

"I'm sorry it's almost over." He rested his head on hers, somehow he knew even though she was in pain she would still have that stupid smile on her face. How she managed to smile while someone dug bullet fragments out of her stomach he'd never know.

Ayame gave a small nod resting all of her wait on the man holding her. She couldn't tell what the odd light in Shinra's eyes was when her looked at her before her began to cut around the wound. The bullet had just been Blessed Silver so it wasn't so bad, the knife on the other hand was worse. The fact that it was blessed silver and purification salt made it act like an acid. As quickly as he could Shinra cut around the effected area and wrapped the wound. It would take a while a couple day before that wound completely healed.

Shinra picked up Celty, "I'm going to take care of her now. It's getting pretty late how about you two crash here for the night. If your here Shizu-chan then dad shouldn't bother Ayame." He smiled back as he left the two in the kitchen.

Ayame wasn't shy about her body so being in just a bra really didn't bother her that much. The fact that she was covered in blood did, "I need to shower."

"Where's it at?" Shizuo moved her off his lap and got off the table and proceeded to pick her up. The thought of loosing this girl had been almost more than he could handle.

"The first door by the front door." Ayame couldn't complain too much about being carried. She was tired and showering was going to be difficult enough.

Shizuo sat the girl inside the bathroom and sat down on the floor infront of the bathroom door. He planned on waiting for her here until she was done his leg bouncing in agitation. He was torn in between tearing the city apart and staying beside the girl until she was healed. Shinra came over and kicked Shizuo's shoe, jumping back when the blond kicked at him.

"Let's wait for her over here. She doesn't handle being smothered well. Celty and I made that mistake when she first showed up here." Shinra walked over and sat down on one of the couches.

Shizuo growled, Shinra was right. Shizuo stood up slowly and walked over to the couch opposite of Shinra and sat down. He had to stop himself from immediately jumping back up when the girl came out of the bathroom in a towel using the wall for support. He growled as something dark covered his eyes, only when he turned his head away did Celty's shadows move.

 _She's better than when she first came here but she doesn't like to show that she's hurt. She's going to be impossible once this she heals! Can she continue staying with you for a while?_

Celty was walking with a limp as she came over to Shinra and sat next to him. She couldn't help remember the girl the Egor had brought to their door steps. When she first came to them Ayame was all on 90 pounds, had hair that touched the ground and an empty look in her eyes. Egor said that he had traveled with her for 5 years and that her father wanted her to stay with Shinra and Celty until she adjusted to city life. Her eyes had warmed the last year but not near as much as they had from the short time she had spent with Shizuo and Celty wished to see more of that progress. They never got the full story about what had happened to the girl just a light gloss over from what Egor knew.

"She can stay as long as she needs or want to. It's been nice having someone else around, and she cooks great as well." Shizuo examined his vest and shirt and wondered if he should remove them. They were covered in Ayame's blood.

"I miss her cooking! Celty you should get her to teach you sometime!" Shinra teased the headless woman.

 _Maybe you should ask, she seems not to mind when you ask things like that. I don't think I could!_

Celty seemed to be a little emberessed as she held out the phone for Shinra. The two continued to go back and forth in their playful banter. Shizuo was used to this, it's how it had been since he had known Shinra. His leg stopped bouncing as Ayame came into vision from the corner of his eye. It took almost everything Shizuo had not to turn his head and look at her. She was wearing a large t-shirt and pair of pajama pants.

Ayame's heart raced, what if he hated her after she told him everything. What if she could never walk with him again. Or worse what if all he did was pity her like Shinra and Celty did when she first met them. She sat down on the same couch as Shizuo and hugged one of the throw pillows to her chest.

"If you don't want to talk about it you don't have to tell me." Shizuo leaned back trying to look relaxed.

"A promise is something that shouldn't be broken." Ayame shook her head the smile she hid behind in place, "just please don't think any different of me when you hear."

Shizuo looked over at the girl and gave a nod. He would do his best to not treat this girl any different. No matter how fragile she looked he knew that she wasn't easily broken. If nothing else today proved that.

"It might take a while but here goes." Ayame took a deep breath. It was time for those who she trusted to finally know her.


	6. Chapter 6

Some times we have to deal with things a little at a time to be able to handle them. Sometimes it was best to just get it over with in once quick swipe. The sooner something happened the sooner you are able to move on right?

Ayame took a deep breath and squeezed the pillow tighter. "I'm sorry this might take a while. I'm not sure where to start."

"That's alright." Shinra smiled and looked over at Shizuo who nodded.

"I guess the best place to start is the beginning, or at least what of it I remember. I was a sickly child and wasn't able to play well with my older brother. I would tire easy and never really regain my energy. Mother wouldn't let Father take me with Shinra to come here, she had other plans. I'm not sure what she told him but she must have convinced him that it was for the best.

Shortly after they I was entered into a research program, as I was then I wasn't expected to live for long. They told us it was a new treatment that would help us get better but they still had a few things to work out. There were over 50 of us that I knew of who were in the test group, only three of us survived. They continued the treatment until we were all around the age of at least 13. Each one of us were effected a little differently by the treatments and would never be considered fully human from that point. I don't know if I would say it was a good thing but all of us were cured of our terminal illnesses from this treatment. I can't help but wounder to this day if it would have been better if we had died in the beginning.

It wasn't until I had escaped that I had learned that the reason we were changed is the fact that they had been injecting us with Celty's DNA, they wanted to see if a Doulahan could be man made. Each of the survivors reacted differently to the DNA that was now inside us. I gained the ability to heal, the only other girl survivor was able to control shadows, it was only the last survivor who was able to do both. He was the first to die when the experiments began. After a year or more, it was hard to judge time back then, of experimentation he was beheaded to see if he would be able to become a Doulahan but it seemed that once the head is removed we die like anyone else would.

The Girl who could control Shadows was the next to go. The test they ran on her was seeing to what extent could she use the shadows to protect and defend herself. It was during these tests that they discovered that when she was mortally wounded she would be able heal herself. The scientists weren't satisfied with normal weapons. Once they got bored of testing regular ones they began using anything they could think of trying to see if they could find something to use against Celty. This is when they discovered that Purification salt and Silver could be used again us. She died a year before my escape.

It was because I was able to heal they way I do I was often dissected, and unfortunately for me anesthesia didn't seem to work. I was awake the whole time they were digging around inside me. They wanted to see to what extent I could heal, if they took an organ would it regrow? What if they only cut off a portion of it? How much blood could I loose before my healing abilities couldn't keep up, these were a few of the many questions I heard them ask as I was strapped down to that table time and again. To my unfortunate luck they had to be careful with me because I was their last survivor and they didn't have the means to try and make more of us. Even though I was unable to control them at will they discovered that I had shadows wrapped around my heart and brain to help insure my survival. During this time I had dared to become friends with one of the other test subjects to try and keep my sanity. That was the biggest mistake I could have made.

The scientist soon discover our friendship and used it for their pleasure. They would take us into the opperating room and force us to watch while they other was being tested on. They wanted to see what would happen if a vampire completely lost control. They never seemed to be able to break Stevens will, and I did my best to help him with that. We knew that if he ever lashed out and broke his bonds they would kill him on the spot. I never could figure out why he fought so hard to survive when he knew day after day he would be subjected to the same torture. It was while I was trying to figure this out that he told me that as long as I smiled he would be able to hold out through anything.

Once I started smiling through the operations the doctors began to get nervous. There was still a lot they didn't know about me, a lot they were unsure of. They began to release me from my cage less and less, though that could have been because they found a new soul to torment. I never could tell with them.

They soon brought in the lead scientist to try and stop my bizarre behavior. To either my luck or my misfortune their leader seemed to be fascinated by me. He was a man with many possessions and thought someone who resembled a living doll would be a nice addition to his collections, or so he said. I was not fond of this but Steven reminded me that the closer I get to them the better chance I would get at killing him. For some reason the thought bothered me a little bit, but in the end he was the one responsible for all of us being there in the first place.

I was able to learn of their plans for me by being their leaders pet. They wanted to either train me in combat and use me as a weapon or use me to create more of us." Ayame hugged the pillow tighter.

"Once I relaid this to Steven he came up with a plan. It would be dangerous but we had to try something or else they would try to turn me into a weapon. If I wasn't able to learn how to fight then I would be forced to breed with someone of their choosing and used to make a new generation of soldiers. While I did what I could to get closer to the head scientist he concocted a plan. It only took a week for us to find the right opening.

The scientist made a mistake by thinking me incapable of doing anything against him. I was forced to walk by his side whenever he was in the lab and watch as he conducted his experiments. I wasn't given clothes either so there was no way to sneak a weapon. We had to play a waiting game. A game that consisted of me smiling at the doctors side and complying to his every command like the doll he believed me to be. Eventually it came to the point that he would come alone to my cage, release me, and make me release his next victim.

Steven was in the experimentation rooms when the plan began. I don't remember what it was that I unleashed on them. Once I opened it's cage and faked putting cuffs of it I stabbed the one who had forced me to do so in the neck with the keys he had entrusted me. They had wanted me to become a weapon but they never thought that I would turn on them.

It was during this chaos that I ran to the room that I had seen them take Steven to. When I opened the doors I had to stop myself from crying out. He had tried to break free without my help. His punishment had been to be cut opened and burned from the inside with holy fire. Something that would ensure a vampire never came back. I had to force my feet to move to the room where they stored the documents of all the experiments they had done. To my luck it was all paper copies, they couldn't have anyone hacking into their systems and learning what they were doing. I fallowed the plan and caught the room on fire and there I was planning to stay. That was until Egor showed up out of nowhere and rescued me from that fate. I'm not sure where he came from or how he knew where to find me, but I wouldn't be here if he hadn't. He made me travel with him for a few years before dropping me off at Shinra's door step. He said I needed to be re-humanized before I was allowed into public alone." Ayame didn't register the tears on her face as she gazed down at the floor. She was afraid to look up, afraid to meet anyone's eyes.

She gasped as a hand was placed on her knee and kind brown eyes filled with rage appeared infront of her vision. "If you hadn't said they were dead I would hunt them down and kill them myself." Shizuo's voice was firm as he spoke.

Out of the corner of her eye Ayame registered Celty pulling Shinra out of the room, one hand over his mouth. All she wanted to do was sleep but she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She wasn't sure what drove her to do so, but she dropped the pillow she was clinging to and wrapped her arms around Shizuo. He was stiff under her arms as she hid her face in his neck and fisted her hands in the back of his shirt so hard that they cramped. All those years she had bottled up those emotions inside her, all those years she hadn't even dared show what she felt, and now that she had spoke it the dam finally broke.

After a few moments of being suddenly clung to Shizuo relaxed. He never would have thought that he would be the one comforting anyone, everyone was always afraid of him. Not this girl, she was so tiny and yet she didn't fear his strength at all. As gently as he could he hugged her back, afraid to break her. He wasn't sure what to say so he chose to say nothing. It was some time before he realized that she had fallen asleep clinging to him. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he pulled the girl off of the couch. He wasn't sure which room was hers but he figured it wouldn't be too hard to sort it out.

Thankfully there was only two other bedrooms in the apartment. The first one Shizuo came to was what appeared to be guest room. The second door he came to made the smile from before come back. One the bed there were stuffed animals thrown about. All of them were were fluffy and appeared to be soft, from what he could see in the closet there were clothes that didn't quiet meet the usual oversize hoodie that he was so used to seeing Ayame in. He couldn't tell much detail from the lighting of the room and wasn't particularly interesting in nosing around either.

The difficulty of the situation wasn't finding the girls room, the difficult part was trying to get her to let him go so he could lay her down in bed. When Shizuo couldn't get her hands to release he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off being careful not to drop her. Ayame made a small sound and hugged the shirt close to her chest never opening her eyes once. Shizuo knew he should go back to the couch and sleep but it had been a very long night and a part of him didn't want to leave her alone. Making up his mind he stretched out on the floor next to the bed and closed his eyes.

It wasn't long before a quiet rap on the door woke Shizuo up from his slumber. Before he could say anything the door was jerked open and an overly cheerful Shinra smiled down at Shizuo.

"Didn't do anything perverted to my little sister while she was sleeping did you?" While his voice was cheerful his eyes were a bit darker then usual.

"Like hell I would do that." He threw the nearest thing to him, a panda plushie, at Shinra as hard as he could. He hit his target knocking him down to the ground.

Before Shinra could say anything else annoying Celty enshrouded him in a shadow ball, her helmet shacking back and forth.

 _Sorry about that. She's going to be asleep for about a week or more. Would you like her to stay here or should we move her back into your place?_

Shizuo sat up and rubbed his eyes as he red the text on Celty's phone.

"Where ever you think she will be safest. She's welcome to stay at my place as long as she likes." Shizuo glanced over to the sleeping girl, his eyes softening from the annoyance Shinra had caused.

 _We'll move her to your place later on._ She paused for a moment as if thinking and then continued, _despite his actions Shinra approves._ And with that Celty left a very confused Shizuo with his thoughts. What they hell did she mean Shinra approves? Approves of what? He sighed and laid back down knowing sleep wouldn't come back to him.

It had to of been Izaya who had caused those people to attack her. She was in this state because of that flea and he would make him pay for it!


	7. Chapter 7

**(The events in this chapter take place after the end of Durarara x2)**

It had been 2 weeks since Ayame had been injured, 1 week since she had woken up. In that week she had managed to avoid Shizuo while staying at his place. She still cooked and left food for him so that he knew she was still there and that she was ok. Being around him lately made her heart pound and she wasn't sure what to make of it. Was it a natural reaction? She knew it wasn't fear that made her heart race but she had never experienced this feeling before. She was doing the only thing she knew was safe, the only thing she could do. She ran. Both metaphorically and literally, if she wasn't at work she was running through the city doing her best to avoid the blond with kind eyes.

That was until there was a note on the fridge. The piece of paper scared her. Maybe it was Shizuo telling her to go back to her brothers? Perhaps he had gotten tired of her being there? Like she cared either way, she lied to herself. Ayame took a deep breath and stared at the note in confusion. Was this even a language? She couldn't make out a single word that was written on the paper, but it must be important for him to try and tell her something right?

"Wake me up when you get up, couldn't read note. Eat first though." she scribbled on the bottom and sat it next to the plate that she had made for him. She had been really tired that night and stared at the couch. He would probably be awake in about an hour or two so if she slept on the couch it shouldn't be a problem right? She shrugged and curled up on the couch knocking on of Shizuo's dirty shirts onto the floor. He wasn't the best house keeper but the place also wasn't a disaster either.

Shizuo woke up and lit a cigarette and stared at the clock on his night stand. His mind wondered for a minute. He couldn't figure out why the hell Ayame was avoiding him. He was sure she was too, he would see her running through town some nights but the minute she saw him she would vanish into the cracks of the city. For someone who hadn't lived in this city for long she sure knew her way around it. He sighed as he finished his cigarette and got dressed. Usually he wouldn't bother with that yet but since the girl had been staying with him he tried to remember to get dressed before leaving his room, even if they didn't run into each other much.

He ran his hand over his face as he saw the plate of food and the note next to it. Damn even her hand writing is tiny. He had to squint to read what she had wrote then looked back up at his own handwriting. It wasn't that bad, he shrugged his shoulders. At least she was willing to speak with him and he hadn't done anything to scare her. The food was still warm whenever he unwrapped it, she must not have been home long. He started the coffee pot and grabbed some utensils, once the food was gone he walked to the room she was staying in and lightly knocked on the door. When there was no answer he cracked it open to go wake her up but was a little frustrated to see the bed empty.

You don't tell someone to wake you up and then leave. She could have just ignored the damn note. Then again maybe she had something to take care of and thought he would be awake later? Nah, she had successful figured all that out so that they wouldn't run into each this past week. Walking back into the kitchen to check on his coffee he noticed a foot hanging off the end of the couch. Curious he walked over and stared down at the girl who was sprawled on the couch. Her hair was a mess and her shirt and hoodie and came up revealing her stomach, and her scars. Shizuo had the sudden urge to trace them but decided against it. Ayame had to of passed out right after she made breakfast.

Shizuo decided to let the girl sleep for a bit longer and noticed that she hadn't done the dishes this time. That was something she was normally very good at doing. He shook his head as he turned the water on, if it was that much work to avoid him then she should just move back in with her brother. That thought hurt him a little bit but maybe it was for the best. All he did was cause trouble anyway.

Once the dishes were done and he had poured his coffee into a cup he walked back over to where the girl had passed out. How do you wake some one up? Shizuo crouched down and moved the girls hair out of her face.

"Shizu-chan." He felt as if his heart stopped for a moment. The girl was still asleep but she had leaned into him hand and spoken his name. Or at least the annoying nickname that Shinra and Izaya gave him.

It was moments like this that made him afraid to be near her. She looked so small and fragile as she slept a small smile on her face. As gently as he could manage to he placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her slightly.

"Ayame?" He tried not to be too loud.

"Hmmmn." Ayame's eyes fluttered open as she glared at the one who awoke her. She had to remind herself that she had technically asked him to.

Shizuo found himself slightly afraid of the girls glare. He wasn't sure why but it seem like a wise idea to not provoke the usually even tempered girl. Ayame sat up and rubbed her eyes, then looked over at the window. It seemed that someone had put a thick blanket over it to block the sunlight.

"Sorry my hand writing has never been that great." He sat back down on his heels and took a drink of his coffee.

Ayame blinked at him again then looked at the cup he was holding. She had a desire to touch him she couldn't explain. Teasing herself she reached out and took the cup out of his hand, brushing his hand slightly, and took a drink of the coffee to try to wake up. She regretted doing so almost immediately.

"How can people stand black coffee." She couldn't hide the disgust as she forced herself to swallow the bitter liquid.

Shizuo couldn't help himself and laughed at the girl. "Don't take other peoples drinks then." He took his cup away from her.

"So what were you trying to write?" She figured she might as well get this over with.

"Verona goes back to Russia today. I was wondering if you wanted to come with Tom and I to see her off."

"Yea I'll go with you what time does she leave?" She really didn't want to go. She was afraid she would see something she didn't want to, but at least he didn't want her to leave.

"In about an hour. We should head out soon." He couldn't help but feel relief that she hadn't run away from him, "Also it's supposed to be really hot out today so you may not want to wear your hoodie."

"But." She looked down a little, "but when I don't I get attention and I don't really like it. I don't know what to think about it or how to respond. If I wear my hoodie I won't have to deal with it."

"If anyone gives you trouble I'll take care of them." Shizuo smiled at her reassuringly.

She looked down at the hoodie she was wearing and in a small voice muttered, "thank you." She would have to avoid talking when she was tired. She gave too much away in this state.

The walk to Russia Sushi was quiet. Neither of the two minded much but they both had things on their mind they didn't know how to say. Ayame tightened the cloth around her eyes and walked a little closer to Shizuo then she would normally have done. She felt exposed being outside without her hoodie on. When a group of people walked towards them she felt herself grab a hold of his elbow and hide behind it. Even though this was uncomfortable she was glad she hadn't wore her hoodie. It was hot in just the t-shirt and jeans she was wearing.

Shizuo looked down as Ayame hid behind him. He didn't mind her clinging to him, in fact he rather liked it. His hand twitched in his pocket with the urge to put his arm around her to make her feel safe but he ignored it. He didn't want to scare her off again after finally having her around him again. Though seeing her act so timid kind of pissed him off. This wasn't the girl he knew but in a way it was kind of cute. He looked back when she let go of his arm and stopped in the middle of the side walk. She was looking back at the group with a fierceness she didn't have minutes ago. Now this was more like the girl he know.

"Something wrong?" He looked past her to the group that was turning the corner, had they said something?

She shook her head and joined him though she was still angry. She didn't want to make a scene but if he could walk around without hiding himself while the world called him a monster than she could do the same. She gave him a smile and walked next to him, her head higher than when they first started their journy. They waiting outside for Tom and Verona while Shizuo smoked.

"Did they say something?" Normally he wouldn't push the subject but he was curious about how she reacted.

"The said something I disagreed with is all. It's not important though." She wasn't sure if she could stand another person saying those words though, let alone repeat them.

He shrugged, it must have been about him. He couldn't figure out why she was the one angry though. Her face didn't show much to reveal her mood but he was beginning to learn how to read them.

"You look a lot smaller without jacket." Verona's voice ended the awkward conversation.

"I know, I hate it." Ayame looked at the ground. She wasn't sure how Verona and Shizuo's relationship had grown in the past few weeks that she had been out of the picture. She wasn't too keen to figure it out either.

"Small does not mean weak. You are not weak." Verona looked into the eyes of her rival. She wasn't sure what to call what she felt for the blond man but she didn't want this girl stealing him before she could figure it out. She would have to fight her for him. But how to do so without men getting in way again.

Ayame gave Verona an odd look as they walked. She was up to something. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the uneven sidewalk. It only made itself known to her mind that she had fallen when she fell into Tom's back. The man looked over and helped steady her.

"Sorry." Ayame looked up and gave Tom the best smile she could manage at that time.

"It's ok." Tom smiled back and scratched his head, one hand still resting on the girls shoulder. That was until a faint growl came from Shizuo. Ayame couldn't see what the look on his face was but Tom removed his hand seconds later. She wasn't sure why he would care, Tom wasn't going to hurt her right?

Shizuo was a used to his sudden bouts of anger, but this time it surprised him. He had never found himself get this mad at someone he called a friend. Tom hadn't done anything wrong, he was just trying to help Ayame but seeing another man touch her had almost made him loose his head. That smile too had made him angry, it was almost real and he didn't want to share her real smile with anyone. He ran his fingers through his hair as they proceeded to the airport. He shouldn't be so possessive, it's not like they were dating or anything. Plus if she knew what had angered him she would probably only respond with anger herself. She had been caged for so long he didn't want to cage her in another way. He had been lost in thought that he almost walked past the entrance to the airport. His sudden stop had caused Verona to walk into him.

"Sorry." He looked back at the blond who smiled at him.

"It's ok. I was not paying attention myself." That wasn't necessarily the truth. There wasn't a time that she could remember when Verona hadn't been aware of everything around her. She had ran into him in hopes that she would be embraced in the slight way that Tom had caught Ayame. Maybe it was because the man infront of her didn't think she was as frail as the girl next to her looked. She looked over at the girl next to her and noticed that she seemed a little out of sorts. The girl who's face never changed from that doll like smile had a slight look of fear on her face, and that's when Verona noticed the attention they were getting as they walked through the crowded airport.

Ayame had suddenly become the center of attention. All eyes turned to look at her as they walked she could feel her heart start to pound. This is what she was afraid of. This is why she always wore that damn hoodie. Her chest felt tight and she was finding it a little difficult to breath, she couldn't help but flinch as a someone touched the small of her back. She looked back to try and figure out who had touched her and relaxed as she realized it was Shizuo. He was glaring at the people who where looking at them causing them to turn away. His presence had cause her to blend in once more, or at least be ignored.

"Sorry." She hadn't realized she had stopped, Shizuo had came back for her when they others had left her behind.

"If you were uncomfortable you could have just said something." Shizuo looked down trying to hold onto the anger he felt for the people who had cause her to be afraid. He didn't think he would ever get over the odd effect she had on him.

"I'm not used to having friends to lean on." Ayame paused for a second and wrinkled her nose as she thought. "That doesn't seem like the right word for you." She hadn't realized she had spoken the last words aloud until she looked up at Shizuo's confused face. "S-sorry I was just thinking aloud we should join the others Verona's flight is soon right?" Her heart was racing for another reason now.

Shizuo wasn't sure what to make of the girls words so he just nodded. Usually he would get annoyed and not be able to think about stuff like that but he still had his hand on her back as they walked over to the group. Only once they were all together again did he finally release his hand from the girl.

"It was good working with you." Tom smiled at Verona.

"It was good working with you as well. Shizuo If I get a chance to come back let's battle. Not with fists but with words." Verona felt her heart rate increase a little for what she was about to do.

"Sounds good." Shizuo wasn't really sure what to say in these situations. He didn't know how to thank the girl in front of him for saving him from being a murderer. Or how to really tell someone good bye. Those things where masked by what happened next though. Shizuo felt his shirt crumple at the chest as he was being pulled down by Verona. Confused, and not wanting to rip his shirt, he complied and leaned down. His confusing increased once more as Verona leaned forward and kissed him. His mind went blank and he barely registered the movement from the corer of his eyes. The only thing he could think as he was being kissed was the last time he had suddenly been kissed was by a small girl in an oversized hoodie. Granted it had been a ploy to give him a shot but he had never forgotten the way his heart felt then, so much different than how it did now.

"What was that for." Shizuo demanded once Verona had released him, feeling much more annoyed than he should.

"Something for you to think about while I am away. Also a means of getting that girl to give up on you." Verona blinked at Shizuo not understand his irritation.

"Do you mean Ayame? What do you mean get her to give up on me?" His anger was rising as his confusion increased, non of this made since.

"Obviously girl Loves you. She's not aware that's the name of what she feels but the way she looks at you it's clear." Verona found herself confused now. She had thought that Shizuo was aware of the girls feelings and didn't return them. If he was in love with someone else she would just have to fight harder for him.

"Shizuo!" Tom leaned over as he tried to catch his breath.

"Hmmm?" He looked over at his friends trying to understand why he was out of breath.

"Ayame." He huffed and took a big breath. "Ayame took off running when you and Verona kissed. I tried to catch her. She's freaking fast she was too far away before I even reached the door."

"I have to go now." Verona hid her smile until she had turned away. She knew the girl had been avoiding Shizuo before this, now she probably wouldn't speak to him again. She blended in with the crowd before she could see Shizuo's reaction.

"Dammit!" He yelled, "Did you at least see which direction she went."

Tom had finally caught his breath and prepared himself for the effect of what he was about to say."You've got to make a decision. Ayame or Verona. You can't have both."

"Ayame of course! Where the Hell did she go!" Shizuo grabbed Tom by the shirt and lifted him off his feet knowing that she was getting farther away by the second.

"Then be clear and make sure she knows that! You can't kiss other women and say you want the other!" Tom's heart was pounding. Why was he having this argument it wasn't his business. He should just tell her which way the girl was running, when did he become suicidal.

"Dammit! I didn't kiss Verona she kissed me!" Shizuo was getting to the point that he was going to hurt Tom if he didn't answer the question.

"She was headed toward the old warehouse district." Tom answered finally understanding what was going on. Verona had used Shizuo's clumsiness in these situations to her advantage.

Shizuo released his boss and ran off through the crowded airport. He wouldn't let her run away, he didn't want to deal with her avoiding him again when he finally got to speak with her once more.

Most of the time things have a way of happening on their own. Sometime, when people are unaware they should be doing something, they need a little push for things to proceed. Only then can both parties find a way to move on with their situation. Weather its forward together or away from each other at least then there is movement instead of a stand still.


	8. Chapter 8

Ayame didn't know what she was feeling, all she knew is it felt like her chest was going to collapse in on itself. Not even running would get the feeling to fade. She had spent the last week going back and forth from Shinra's to try and figure what her emotions were. They had tried to teach her when she first came to them but she didn't care much to understand. She didn't have a need for emotions or what they were called so long as she could run she was fine.

Lately though she had a need to know. She wanted to know the name of the things she felt and what they meant. Why would her heart feel heavy or light, why did these feeling make her want to do certain activities. The only thing she hadn't been able to ask is the way Shizuo made her feel. She hadn't been able to make herself ask her brother why one person could effect her so. She would always find a way to leave when he came up in their conversations. She would do the only thing she knew, she would run away. Why though? Why was she so afraid of knowing what she felt, was it because she somehow knew it would cause this pain in her chest? Was this a side effect of what she felt for the man?

She wasn't sure where she was running to. All she knew where the thoughts swirling through her head and her feet on the ground. She didn't care where she ended up she just had to get away. Maybe if she was far enough away from the events that took place it would be like they never happened.

She hung her head and stopped at that thought. She knew better. She knew that somethings you couldn't run away from. It wouldn't change that it happened. She wondered how far she had ran, her legs were shaky and her breathing was labored. It had been a long time since she had ran until she was this tired. He hands found her face and confusion took over as she felt tears streaming down her face. She was crying? Why!

Ayame sank down the side of a brick wall not caring if she got scraped up by the rough surface. She took a deep breath. She would just go back to not caring, go back to the darkness inside her mind where it was safe. She pushed all her thoughts aside but the sound of foot steps caught her attention. Her heart swelled a little. Had he come after her?

"A pretty girl like you shouldn't be crying all alone like this." An unfamiliar voice called out, "Why are you hiding your eyes behind that cloth? I'm sure they're as pretty as you are."

Ayame's heart dropped, somehow she felt worse now than she did a minute ago. She stood up causing her legs to protest. "That's not your concern. Leave me alone."

"It is a concern of mine though. If your eyes are just as pretty as you are then you could be the center point of our auction. Yes a living doll. That would attract people from all over." A handsome man with long black hair came into view. He had a wicked smile and dark blue eyes that matched them. He wasn't dressed to be in an ally like this. He was wearing a black suit with a light blue tie.

Ayame was too focused on trying to figure out what the man meant. Sell her? Why would anyone want to buy her? Could they even do that. She didn't hear the foot steps from the other side of the ally. She didn't notice the other men in the ally until in was too late. Someone pulled her away from the wall and she felt a needle be injected in her neck. She hadn't fallen asleep like they expected but she did find herself unable to move.

"Be gentle with her, we don't want to damage the goods." The man in the suit smiled as the others tied the girl up.

Shizuo ran as fast as he could. Stupid Tom! If he had just told him which direction she had ran from the beginning he may have caught up to her! He may have had some idea on where to go next. He had already check the were house where she had brought him when he was running away from the gang who wanted to kill him. He would tear this city apart to find her!

A bike caught his attention. He caught the black rider's attention by running infront of her causing her. She tilted her helmet to the side asking what was wrong.

"Have you seen Ayame around here?" Shizuo didn't really want to have a conversation right now but it was necessary.

 _No I haven't did something happen?_ She typed seeming both annoyed and concerned.

"Sorta. There was a misunderstanding and she ran off. Tom said she ran this way but I haven't been able to find her anywhere!" He was getting antsy.

 _I can help look for her! There's rumors of people kidnapping attractive females and selling them at underground auctions._

"Shit! If they touch her I'll kill them!"

 _Calm down. Ayame is normally in a giant hoodie when she's out. They won't even know she's a girl if they see her._

"We need to find her dammit! I convinced her not to wear the damn thing because it was so hot." He didn't want to admit he may have caused her to run. That he had upset her. It was his fault she wasn't wearing her hoodie. If she was wearing it he wouldn't be as worried because it hid what she really looked like. Without it that group of people would probably do anything to find her.

 _Get on! Tell me EVERYTHING we'll find her!_ Celty knew there was more to the story than Shizuo was telling her. Usually she wouldn't push the unstable man, but she suspected that he was the cause of Ayame's unusual behavior. She had been acting strangely since she woke up from her healing sleep. Not necessarily strange in a bad way though, she actually wanted to interact with those around her. If he had done anything to hurt her she didn't know what she would do!

Shizuo growled in frustration and jumped onto the back of Celty's bike. Reluctantly he told her about today. He started rambling, which is something he normally didn't do. He told Celty about today how it all seemed normaly and that Ayame had stopped avoiding him finally, he eneded the story on the fact that Verona had kissed him infront of her and how he didn't realized what was happening and it may have looked like he had kissed her back.

Celty resisted the urge to stop the bike and give the idiot a piece of her mid. Her helmet flew off with a puff of black smoke. How could he be so stupid! A pick up truck pulled out of an ally infront of them causing Celty to swerve to avoid hitting them. Usually she wouldn't bother fallowing them but shooter wouldn't let her steer away when she tried to take a turn. She was confused usually shooter didn't care where she drove around. The truck had picked up speed and her familiar reacted by picking up it's speed.

After a few minutes of fallowing the truck she finally realized what had her familiar on edge. A small girl stood up in the back, her arms where held behind her at an odd angle and a cloth was tied around her eyes. The wind stole whatever words she yelled as the truck slammed on it's brakes. The girl flew back and hit the back window of the truck, sliding back into the bed. Celty was surprised that Shizuo hadn't jumped into the truck yet. Normally he wouldn't think twice about doing something rash.

"I need to save her but I can't touch her." Shizuo growled he needed to be mad to kick the kidnappers asses.

Celty tilted her head to the side confused at the mans statement.

"I can't be mad if I touch her! I don't know why but at even the smallest touch my mind calms down." He was frustrated.

Celty's shoulders shook with silent laughter. Her friend wasn't aware of the cause of his affliction. This gave her an idea though. If he didn't want to just grab the girl and go then that meant they would have to take out the people in the cab of the vehicle. She pulled her bike to the side and sped up passing the truck and pulling out infront of it.

Shizuo smiled, he knew what she was doing! He stood up on the bike and jumped towards the truck landing on it's hood. He punched through the windshield and pulled the passenger out of the vehicle. Without wasting a second he threw the man as hard as he could away from the truck and crawled into the hole that the passenger's body had opened up. Shizuo punched the driver hard enough to knock him out of the truck taking the door with him. It was at this point that he realized he didn't know how to drive. The truck was slowing on it's own but at this pace it would take forever to stop. He looked up through the broken wind shield. Celty had already thought of his predicament. She had created a net up ahead that would catch the truck and stop it.

Once the truck had stopped Celty met Shizuo at the side before he could get out. Her phone was held out to him. The question on the phone made Shizuo's brow furrow at the thought and then realization hit him. He didn't want to answer her. He wasn't sure he wanted to admit it. He destroyed everything he touched causing him to always be alone. He never thought he would ever be asked that question.

 _Do you love her?_ Celty held out her phone watching as the mans face changed from confusion to defeat. She hadn't seen that look on his face the hole time she had known him. She knew she was being unfair but she wasn't going to let him go before he told her what she already knew. He had to admit it to himself before he proceeded.

"yes." His voice was quiet. His hands shook a little. He didn't deserve to love anyone, after all he was just a monster.

 _Don't worry Shinra's been routing for you for a while now. He says that what better pairing than his best friend and his little sister._

Shizuo blinked surprised about how those words made him feel better.

 _If Ayame has a connection to a person she's able to calm their emotions. She doesn't know she's doing it though the only person I've heard of it happening to was Shinra. I'm not sure what it means._

Shizuo wasn't sure what to make of this information.

 _You might want to go after her by the way._ Celty held up the phone and pointed as the girl hopped out of the truck. Sure she could have stopped her but she had interfered enough.

"Dammit!" Shizuo swore and jumped out of the seat as Celty stepped back. He was tired of this day already.

Ayame wasn't sure why she ran. She had managed to get the ties off her wrists and hopped out of the truck. She was still tired from running earlier and the cocktail of drugs they injected in her earlier made her movements a little sluggish. Normally she was safe from the effects drugs, but that must had been a combination she had never had before. She was a little unfamiliar with this part of the city, if this was still even Ikeburkuro.

For some reason allies where her go to for places to hide. They usually had pathways connecting them that where hard to see. This one, however, did not. Maybe Shizuo hadn't been able to keep up? She looked for a place to hide until she noticed the figure huffing at the entrance of the ally. Shit! She'd been found.

She looked around for an escape but there was none. She braced herself and took a fighting stance, "Fight me!" She wasn't sure why she yelled it. Why she thought it was a good idea. Her chest hurt and her mind wasn't working. If she couldn't run then she had to fight right?

Shizuo blinked at the girl standing in the ally. Fight her? She couldn't be serious right? He would kill her if he hit her. The look on her face told him he didn't have a choice. If he walked away he would lose her. That would be the last time he saw her and he didn't want that. Maybe...Just maybe that would work. He took a deep breath and ran at the girl swinging to hit her. She dodged his strike and the one that fallowed it, being driven farther into the ally until her back hit the wall. Shizuo place one hand by her head and punched through the brick on the other side.

He couldn't see her eyes but by the set of her shoulder he could tell it wasn't fear.

"I don't want to fight you I just want to talk!" He did his best not to touch her.

"What is there to talk about?" Ayame looked away. Her heart was pounding.

"Why have you been avoiding me before today?" Her lips held his attention as she bit the side of them.

"I haven't been avoiding you." She glared up at the man hoping he believed the lie.

"Yes you have." He was feeling irritable again.

"So what if I have been. It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. If you won't tell me why you've been avoiding me then at least tell me why you ran away today." He voice gave away the hurt he felt. She had ran from him. He realized that now, it wasn't the situation she had run from but him.

"I." She didn't want him to hurt the words of the group from earlier came to her mind. He wasn't a monster. "I-I'm not sure. Seeing the two of you kiss. My chest felt tight, I wasn't sure what to do so I ran. Then when I saw you again my heart began to race. I felt conflicted and confused so I did the only thing I could. I ran away." Her heart was racing and she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"I didn't kiss her. She kissed me, I think she was trying to get at you." He couldn't control his irrationality as he pulled his right hand out of the wall and placed it on the side of her neck. The girl flinched away at the sudden contact but relaxed after a moment. Shizuo's heart raced and he ran his thumb along her chin pausing when he came to the middle and gently pushed upward. The girl's head tiled back so that she was looking up at him. He could feel her heart race under his hand as he studied her face. She didn't look like she was afraid of him, but she had that mask on again. He couldn't remember a time when he had been this afraid as he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. He was about to pull back when it seemed as if she wasn't going to respond but was shocked when he felt her hands brush against his chest and wrap around his neck. He couldn't help but groan a little as she tangled her hands in his hair and pulled.

Her heart was racing, this was different than when she had first kissed him to catch him off guard. Her mind was completely blank as she pressed herself against him. She was dissapointed whenever he finally pulled away but that disappointment turned into something else as his mouth found her neck. A sensation she had never felt before flooded her body when he gently bit her neck. She couldn't find the words to tell him that he could bite harder so instead pressed her neck against his mouth when he opened it to bite her again.

Shizuo was a little surprised when the girl pulled his hair and pressed against his mouth when he went to bite her again. He was trying to be careful, he didn't want to hurt her but he understood what she wanted. He hadn't thought about the fact that her sense of touch would be dulled from the pain she experienced in her life. He hadn't been thinking of anything if he was honest but he found himself complying to her desire. He sank his teeth into a little harder each time judging her reaction until finally he was was rewarded. Hearing her moaned caused him to bite down a little harder than he meant to.

She wasn't sure what to do her nails scrapped the back of his neck and she clung to his shirt. Until finally he was kissing her once more. After a moment of kissing Shizuo rested his forehead on hers. She hadn't wanted it to stop, but she wasn't sure where it was leading either. Her heart raced and she slowly sank down the wall. He legs had given out from both the running and the kissing.

Shizuo blinked down at the girl. Had he been too rough with her? "Are you ok?"

Ayame couldn't find her voice yet so she just nodded.

Shizuo wanted nothing more than to finish what he started but he knew that wouldn't be right. He hadn't realized, until she had spoken earlier, how much she didn't understand about herself. She didn't know what her emotions meant and he wouldn't take advantage of her. "You should probably talk to Celty or Anri before we do that again." He paused for a second, "if you wanted to that is."

"Why would I need to talk to them?" Her breathing was starting to slow finally.

"Um...well...you should understand yourself more before anything happens." He wasn't sure how to describe it. He hadn't been in this position before.

"Hmmm, and you won't do that again until I do?" She didn't know why but she was dissapointed by this.

"Right." Shizuo wasn't too sure about weather or not he would be able to fallow through with it or not but he was going to try his best at least. "Shall we go home?" He wasn't sure if her continued stay was a good idea until she talked to Celty or not but he didn't wish to go back to living alone.

The girl fidgeted a little, "can you help me? I can't stand." She blushed and looked down. Her legs still felt like jelly.

Shizuo couldn't help but feel slight since of accomplishment as he helped the girl to her feet. He wanted to carry her but with the way things had gone he wouldn't be able to stop himself from continuing where they left off. Once Ayame was able to find her feet they proceeded to exit the ally. Shizuo had one hand in his pocket the other holding a cigarette. He was lost in thought as they walked down the road and almost didn't notice when Ayame stopped walking.

It happened again. There was a heat in her chest that she didn't like at that group of people had caused it by calling Shizuo a monster. She looked over at the blond and smiled up at him, "I'll be right back."

Ayame smiled as she walked up to the two people that where walking away from them and tapped the one talking on the shoulder. The man turned and gave the girl a quizzical look, "did he do something to you?"

"Actually no he didn't. Well nothing I didn't want that is." She smiled and pulled a nice out of her shoe and held it to the mans throat, "but if you really must know that man there isn't the monster. I am. He's one of the most warmhearted people in this twisted city."

The man she was holding a knife to could have easily over powered the girl but that smile of hers had him locked into place. Something about it told him she wouldn't hesitate to slit his throat if needed. "I-I'm sorry!" He backed away from her his legs shaking, "I wont say it again."

The girl tucked the knife back in her shoe and gave the man a very different smile. "Be sure that you don't. I have a way of knowing these things." She bluffed and turned around to see Shizuo standing behind her with a very odd look on his face.

Never before had Shizuo ever been defended. No one had ever bothered to speak up for him because he was strong enough to protect himself. He found if very hard not to kiss the girl again at the moment. Hopefully she talked to Celty soon, he wasn't sure he could control himself for an extended period of time. He sighed and smiled at the girl.

"I'm used to it by now there's no need to go out of your way for me." He shook his head.

"But you shouldn't have to deal with it. You're the farthest thing from a monster this city has seen." She tilted her head to the side wondering if she had done something wrong.

Shizuo couldn't bring himself to say anything and just proceeded to take the girls hand and head back for home. She had truly stolen his heart and she didn't even know it.


	9. Chapter 9

There are lines that one will not cross on their own volition. Things that their vary beings tell them is wrong. Sometimes though, that line can be crossed. If one is pushed far enough, but once crossed they can never got back.

Shizuo grunted in his sleep, he had become very warm but didn't want to get up to turn the a/c up. He became aware of the cause of the excess heat whenever he felt someone grip the sheets over his chest. That was when he noticed the slight weight he felt on his hips. He growled lightly and opened his eyes trying to figure out just who thought it was a good idea to wake him up.

His eyes met those of Ayame's, her eyes seemed to be darker than usual and her cheeks where flushed. His hips moved on their own pushing up against the girl that was straddling them. She grabbed the sheet tighter a faint noise coming from her throat, this is when Shizuo noticed that all she was wearing was a thin shirt that hung off her shoulders a bit and underwear. His heart raced as he struggled to get his body back under control.

"I had a dream." She tilted her head to the side bringing her legs together slightly causing Shizuo to hiss. "I tried to talk to Celty like you asked but she said Erika would be of more help."

Shizuo ran his hand through his hair. It was too early to deal with this shit. He put his hands on her hips with intend to move the girl off of himself but then his mind finally registered the dream part of her sentence. He knew it was a bad idea but he couldn't help himself from asking, "a dream?" He was trying to figure out why she was in his room. More importantly why was she on top of him when it was so freaking hot.

Ayame shifted on Shizuo's hips again running her hands down to where they rested over his stomach. She liked the face he made when she moved against him. She wasn't sure what to do about the tightness in her chest or the heat between her thighs but if it was like what she dreamed he would be able to help. "Yes a dream. You made it go away." She wasn't sure how to explain what she wanted.

"Made what go away." Shizuo's grip tightened on the girls hips as she shifted around on top of him. Much more of that and he wouldn't be able to control herself.

"The." she paused for a second thinking for a moment and then finally settled on what seemed like the right word, "need. You made the feeling of needing go away," she tilted her head to the other side, "or is wanting the proper wo..." her words turned to a small moan and Shizuo pulled her hip again his grinding against her.

Shizuo finally understood why she was in his room and he wanted to give into the desire he felt. He wanted to give her what she wanted and couldn't help but groan slightly as she started rocking her hips over his. He was loosing control as one of his hands started to slowly slide up her back around to her sides. He brushed the bottom of her breast as his hand slide back down her side resting on her hips. He pressed her hips roughly into his as they rocked back and forth over his groin causing her to moan agian. He was frustrated about the existence of the sheets and what little clothes where in between them. He would take her now and worry about the consequences later, or at least that's what he thought until a knock at the door drug him out of his desire.

Ayame leaned back tilting her head back until she was looking out the door she had left open. She didn't really like the sound that had disturbed what she was feeling. She wanted more, so much more than what was happening. She couldn't help the frustrated noise that escaped her as she was picked up off of Shizuo and sat down on the bed next to him.

"You'll be the death of me." He looked over at the girls face and almost lost himself once more whenever the person at the door knocked again. "Can you get the door?"

Shizuo sat up and watched as the girl got off the bed in a bit of a clumbsy manner. He got a look of the girls underwear and she got down, they evidence of her own arousal was clear as she pulled the over sized shirt down around her. She didn't say anything as she left the room, it took everything in him to not pin her down and make her beg for more. To punish her for leaving him in the state his was in. He gave a deep breath and tried to calm himself as he heard Ayame converse with the person at the door.

Erika had been the one who had interrupted her fun but it may have been the best. She knew that Shizuo was very animate on her talking to someone before they did what every it was that was about to happen. This didn't mean she had to be happy about the fact though.

"Let me get dressed real quick ok?" She gave Erika a huge smile as the guest seated herself down on the couch.

When the girl nodded in response Ayame turned around the corner and walked down the hall stopping infront of her room. She glanced over at Shizuo's room and saw him looking at her front his seated position on the bed. He held his head in one hand, a cigarette in the other. She couldn't help but give the man a wide grin as she opened her door and started taking off her shirt as she stepped into the door way.

Shizuo growled and snapped his cigarette. For someone who didn't understand human interaction she was good at driving him crazy. That smile told him that she knew on some level what she was doing. Once he had completely calmed down he pulled on pants over his boxers and came out to greet their guest.

"Hello Erika. I didn't know you where stopping by." He looked over at the girl on the couch as he went over to the fridge to pour himself a glass of milk.

"Hi Shizu-chan. I just came to get Ayame. She agreed to try on some of my cosplay! Want me to send you naughty pictures of her changing?" Erika grinned. She knew she shouldn't push his buttons but seeing him choke on his milk was worth it.

"Like hell I would." From the girls smile he knew his words hadn't been convincing.

At that moment Ayame joined the two once more. She was wearing a t-shirt that was just a little too short for her and jeans that showed every curve. Shizuo's hand twitch at the desire to touch her but chose to busy himself when finding something to eat.

"Are you ready!? Let's go I have sooo many things for you to try one! You're so adorable in your maid outfit I wounder what you like in a swim suit or even..." Ayame stopped listening as the excieted girl trailed off leading the way out of the house.

Ayame stopped at the door way and looked over at Shizuo. She felt awkward leaving like there was something she should be doing before she left. Her face fell a little as she tried to figure out what to do. Shizuo blinked up from the light of the fridge as he noticed he was being stared at. He couldn't help but find the expression on the girls face to be cute. Any expression that wasn't that damn smile made him happy.

He leaned down and whispered, "be careful or next time I won't be able to stop myself." He kissed her forehead, while glaring at a smirking Erika, and stepped back. He wasn't sure what he expected but the grin on her face wasn't it. He didn't think she realized how scared he was to be with her in that way. What if he couldn't control his strength and hurt her?

"I'll look forward to it." She couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from rising as she jogged after Erika who looked like she was gonna explode.

Erika was digging thorough outfits trying to decide what to have the girl wear next. It had taken her a moment to get used to the girl choosing to change infront of her instead of in the other room. She wanted to asked about the scars that littered her torso but thought better of it. As she finally settled on a warrior maiden costume she handed it over to the girl.

"This is serious though!? How far have you to gotten?" Erika couldn't help but ask. I mean that was part of the reason Ayame was here.

"We've kissed but Shizuo said we shouldn't do that anymore until I talked to someone about what it means." She pulled off the school girl uniform.

"He's right! How do you feel about Shizu-chan?"

"I'm not sure what the emotion is called to be honest" She pulled the full length dress over her head and positioned the armour that came with it. "When I'm around him my heart feels lighter than it's ever felt before. I feel like if I'm with him nothing bad will happen." She paused gazing up with a slight smile on her face. "When I'm with him all I want to do is smile. Not the fake smile but the genuine thing." She hardly ever smiled smiled with emotion. Some habits where hard to break.

There was a flash as Erika capture a picture. She couldn't help it the look on her face and the outfit just looked so good together. "Ayame you look like a warrior who's set on protecting the one's she loves and knows she will prevail over the darkness that lurks around every corner!" She click send. As her own source of amusement she had sent pictures to Shizuo of every outfit that Ayame had tried on. Suddenly her explanation registered and Erika gasped, "could it be? Are you in love with Shizu-chan!?"

Shizuo growled as his phone buzzed once more. He was sitting on the steps of a shrine eating a Popsicle with Tom. He wasn't sure who wanted to get a hold of him but he wasn't in that much of a mood to talk to anyone. Their last 2 jobs had been difficult, one of them had a wife and child. His phone buzzed yet again and he finally took out his phone from his pocket and checked it.

He blinked and began scrolling through several pictures of Ayame until he came to a picture of her looking up with a smile on her face. This was the only one that had text with it. _You'd better protect that smile you he_ _ar_ _. That's what she looks like when she talks about you_. He blinked at the text. Surely Erika had gotten it wrong. There's no way that girl who didn't show what she was feeling would smile like that for him.

 _I plan on it._ He typed and hit send.

"Something to do with Ayame?" Tom looked over at Shizuo as his irritation visibly vanished.

"Hmmmm? How'd you know?" Shizuo blinked over at Tom.

"She's the only one capable of calming you down. How are things going with the two of you by the way." Tom leaned back as he talked testing his ground. He knew this wasn't something that Shizuo usually talked about.

Shizuo thought back to this morning and felt his cheeks heat up a little bit. He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his face, "good I guess." he shrugged his shoulder. "I guess I should ask her out sometime. If that what she wants." He hadn't intended to say the last part.

"You guys aren't dating!?" Tom sat up and stared at Shizuo, "I thought surely by now you would have at least asked."

"Time never really seemed right." He shrugged feeling a little annoyed with the conversation. It wasn't any of Tom's business what he was doing.

"Hey you! You're friends with that girl from the maid cafe right!?" A man in bagging clothes that basically screamed street thug walked up to the two.

"Yea I guess." Shizuo didn't know what this guy wanted but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like it.

"Well tell her she better give me her number next time and not some creeps who want to make you kill yourself!" The man grabbed Shizuo by the shirt collar.

"Why should she give you her number?" Shizuo was trying to calm himself before he knocked the shit out of the guy infront of him. What didn't help his temper was the fact that the idiot was saying Ayame had given him Izaya's number instead of her own.

"Obviously because I'm awesome and I'll make her scream in bed." The idiot spoke not knowing he was on the verge of being killed.

Shizuo couldn't contain his anger anymore. He pulled himself out of the punks grip and threw him as far as he could. He didn't know what made him more angry, the fact that Ayame was still in contact with that flea, or the fact that he was still alive.

"He's not in this city anymore. Last I heard he was half a continent away. Just talk to her I'm sure she had her reasons." Tom tried to talk Shizuo down but couldn't manage to budge his friends temper.

"Oh I'm going to ask her alright!" Shizuo couldn't help the thoughts swirling through his head. He couldn't help but wonder if the girl was just playing with him this whole time under Izaya's orders. He stormed away from his boss. They were done for the day so there was no need for him to stay any longer. He would wait a while before going home, maybe he would calm down by then.

If this was some plan of Izaya's then he would track him down and finish the job.


	10. Chapter 10

Shizuo had been in a foul mood since she left. She hadn't given him any warning that she was going to the opposite side of Tokyo for who knows how long. Hell she hadn't even bothered to say good bye to him! Maybe this was all just a plan concocted by that damn flea! He growled and snapped the cigarette he had been smoking in half. He glanced over at Tom to ask where they were going next but noticed that something had caught his boss' attention.

"Isn't that?" Tom pointed at a thin figure running at high speeds on the other side of the busy road.

Both males stopped and watched as the small figure jumped into traffic and used the hoods of cars to avoid becoming part of the road. What the hell was she thinking! Let alone when did she start dressing like that!? The usually modest girl who was afraid to wear anything but her over sized hoodies was now running towards him wearing low cut ripped jeans and a black tube top. Before Shizuo could think of what to do the girl, who he had missed so much, jumped up and momentarily landed on his shoulder. There was blood flowing from her bare feet, someone was going to pay.

"I'll explain later! Go up and I'll lead them somewhere less populated if you don't mind helping me." And with that she sprung off his shoulder and into the crowded sidewalk, the cloth around her eyes snapping in the wind.

There was the sound of gun shots but it was unclear as to where they where coming from. Shizuo looked around, he should be able to climb that building and cut through the crowd. He glanced over at Tom, he wanted to help her but at the same time he still had a job to do right?

"Well what are you waiting for? We're done for today." Before the words had even left Tom's mouth he was already throwing himself up a near by apartment building. What kind of trouble did she get herself into while he was gone? And did she only seek him out because she needed help or because she wanted to? He tried to keep his temper in check as he looked for Ayame in the busy street, as soon as he spotted her he took off in that direction.

Ayame panted, she had been running for so long already. Her feet felt like they were on fire and she wasn't even sure who the hell these people were! Or how they knew she would come back today. She had been lucky and ran into Shizuo, her heart tightened as she ran. She had missed him but had no way to contact him while she was at the new cafe. She had lost her phone within a few days of leaving and since she did have much knowledge about phones she never bothered to replace it. The only one she had been able to contact before then was Shinra and she hadn't thought to get Shizuo's number from him either. She hoped desperately that he didn't hate her, she wasn't sure how people usually reacted to others just leaving for a while without telling them.

She looked behind her and cursed, they had seemed to multiply. The only reason they hadn't given up because of exhaustion yet was because they had started out on motor bikes. That's the reason she had ended up in this busy part of Ikeburkuro in the first place, she hadn't expected them to pursue her on foot. She hissed as she stepped on yet other piece of glass, someone really should clean this place up. She had forgotten her usual shoes at the new owner's home and had wore her work heels on the bus here. She had to ditch those in order to outrun the idiots chasing her.

Ayame looked up hoping like hell that Shizuo had wanted to help her. To her great relief she spotted the white sleeve of his shirt on one of the roofs next to where she was running. Or at least that's what she hopped she had seen. With one last burst of speed she took a tight turn and ran into an ally. She had finally gotten to where she wouldn't bring in any one else.

"You've ran out of places to run little girl." The guy talking was missing a tooth causing his voice to whistle a little.

"The boss told us you would be coming back soon. Said you would fetch a good price at auction." One of the other scumbags spoke up raising a gun at her, "Said it was ok to damage the goods a little. Some people are into that after all." He smiled cruel

"No matter how much you hurt me I'm not going with you! I've got a lot of shit to straiten out first and you're not going to stand in my way of that." Ayame kept her head high trying to hide the panic she was starting to feel. What if she hadn't really seen Shizuo? She had been taking classes to learn how to fight but there was no way she could take on this many people at once!

Someone screamed form the back of the now crowded ally. "What they hell is going on!" The man with the gun yelled. He seemed to be the ring leader of the group that had came after her.

"Some guy dressed as a bartender. We'll take care of him you get the girl!" One of the lackeys called back as some one else yelled, "Is this guy even human!?"

While the leader was distracted Ayame had jumped up and off the wall to kick the guy in the head, to her misfortune he was quick and she was tired. He caught her by the leg and threw her into the dumpster. She was dazed but nothing was broken.

"What kind of scum attacks women!" Shizuo threw the last remaining minion at the leader.

The leader dodged and aimed his gun at Shizuo who glared at the idiot. With a quick move he dodged the shot and broke the mans arm. Without skipping a beat he picked up the guy and threw him out of the ally and turned his attention to Ayame who was sitting on the ground staring up at him. There were tears in her eyes and Shizuo instantly felt the desire to murder every man lying around him, find their leader and kill him too. The only thing that stopped him was her words.

"I've missed you!" Ayame used the last of her strength to jump up from where she was sitting and throw herself at Shizuo.

Shizuo fought to keep his anger. He was confused about what was going on with, well, everything. Kishitani had said she was safe and was working at a new branch of the maid cafe. Then again he said he hadn't heard form her since the first day she had arrived and that had been a few months ago.

"I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I had forgotten that I was supposed to leave so when I got to work that day I was put on a bus to the new location. I realized when I was there that I had never gotten a way to contact you so I told Shinra where I was so he wouldn't worry and then I lost my phone." There was a lot more she said but she had started crying to the point where it was hard to understand. He wasn't sure why she was crying in the first place to begin with.

"We should go somewhere else?" He wasn't sure where but eventually the alley full of unconscious men would attract attention. He looked down as Ayame released him and slowly sank down to the ground, "are you ok?"

She gave a small nod, "just tired. I've been running since I got back a noon." That had been six hours ago. The men had ambushed her the minute she got off the bus.

Shizuo growled a little, he wished she had found him sooner. Or that ass holes like that wouldn't even exist in the first place.

Ayame was a little shocked when she felt Shizuo pick her up, though she rationalized that it was because they needed to move. She tucked her head under his chin and he carried her bridal style out of the alley. It was then that she realized that she had almost gotten to Shizuo's apartment, she really hoped he wasn't too angry with her. She was so tired she could fall asleep where she was, but there was a tension in the silence that kept her awake. Ayame wanted to know if the man that held her hated her but she couldn't bring herself to speak the words.

Once they arrived inside the apartment Ayame was confused when she was carried to the bathroom and sat on the sink. The bathroom wasn't particularly spacious and wasn't made for two people to move around in easily. Ayame couldn't look Shizuo in the eyes as he wet-ted a rag and fished out a pair of tweezers from one of the drawers. Just when she had gotten the courage to speak she swore as a piece of glass was yanked from her foot.

"Sorry there's a few more of them left. Your skin started growing over the shards." Shizuo swallowed his frustration. He should have taken her to Shinra, he would have been able to get this done in a less painful manner.

"It's my fault. I had forgotten to change shoes when I left the cafe and I couldn't run as fast in heels..." She hissed as another shard was pulled free.

"It's the bastards that were chasing that's to blame not you."

"I guess that's true. Hey Shizuo?" It had been the first time she had used his actual name.

"Hmmmm?"

"Do you..." She trailed off, maybe she wasn't brave enough to know so instead she changed the subject before it could become one, "Thank you for helping me before, and again now."

Shizuo was silent for a while as he washed off the bottom of her foot. Usually he wasn't someone who pried but he couldn't help but ask. "Do I what?" He had found one last raised spot that indicated a shard was hiding under her skin.

Ayame remind silent causing Shizuo's temper to raise. What was the point of bringing something up if you didn't want to talk about it! Then another thought crossed his mind. "Why do you have that flea's number?"

"His number? OH! Right!" She smiled a little bit, "So do remember the first time you came into my work? You told me that it was dangerous to give my number out to random peoples?"

Shizuo sat back on his heel with his hand on his chin and thought for a moment, "Yea I remember."

"Well. It wasn't my number that I would give males, as long as I gave them a number it shut them up. That number happened to be Izaya's." She paused at Shizuo's growl. "I gave them his because it seems like males like to send pictures of their anatomy to females they wished to mate with. Since I didn't like getting theses images I thought it would be amusing to give them Izaya's since I don't like him either. The awakusu keep me informed on his contact information in exchange that I help them with endurance training of their men. They saw me running one day and decided that I could help them." Ayame had started rambling at the end.

Shizuo hadn't expected that answer, nor had he expected this whole situation to end with him laughing on the bathroom floor. He stopped laughing for a moment as he noticed Ayame was staring at him with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Are you feeling ok?"

"Y-yea. I like your laugh is all."She looked at her feet as she spoke. Guiren, the manager of the new store, had told her that whenever she noticed something about Shizuo she liked she should tell him.

Shizuo blinked in surprise but couldn't help but smile, but something was still weighing on his mind. "What were you going to ask me about earlier?"

"Well...I was...I'm afraid that..."She took a deep breath unused to the whirl wind of emotions inside her. She hadn't been this concerned with anything before she had left. Those two had changed her more than she had thought. "I thought that you might hate me for leaving for a while and not being able to let you know that I had gone." Her heart was pounding as she spoke, stupid thing.

"You're the one person I don't think I could hate." Shizuo hadn't had a chance to think about what he said the words just came out. He wasn't used to this kind of thing happening or dealing with these kinds of emotions.

Ayame slid off the sink, which placed her on Shizuo's lap, and found herself kissing him. Shizuo was caught but surprise but pulled her close responding to the kiss. They were both out of breath when the finally pulled apart.

"If you do things like that I won't be able to control myself." Shizuo growled into Ayame's ear.

Ayame tucked her head into the side of Shizuo's neck and lightly ran the tip of her tongue up the side of his neck until she came to his ear. "What if that's exactly what I want?" she tangled her hands in his hair and kissed him once again. With that what little control Shizuo was holding on to left him.

Ayame opened her eyes as she heard the sound of someone knocking at the door. She wiggled out from under Shizuo's arm, causing him to growl slightly, and went to leave the room.

"Clothes..." Shizuo's tired voice caught her attention. She looked back at him as he sat up and rubbed his face.

The knock on the door reminded her that she was doing something other than stare at the man she had just had had sex with. Her clothes were out of the question as he had literally tore them off of her and she didn't think there was time to find clothes in the room she had stayed in before she left. She couldn't help but wonder if she there was still even clothes in there.

She picked up the shirt Shizuo had been wearing before and pulled it over her shoulders. Most of the buttons were still attached and she made quick work of them. Thankfully the shirt was big enough on her that it would hide the face that she wasn't wearing any panties, hopefully at least. Ayame glanced back once more and smiled at the grump faced blonde who was now smoking a cigarette. Without saying much she walked down the hall and opened the door just as their visitor rose their hand once more to knock on the door.

 _So you are here! Shinra was concerned when a back pack was delivered to his apartment with your stuff in…_ Celty stopped tying and took in the sight before her. Why was she wearing Shizuo's shirt? There were strange marks on her neck as well. She was going to ask if something happened when Shizuo walked into the room wearing just his pants. He had dark marks on his neck and chest that look similar to Ayame's.

 _Did you?_ Celty held out the phone unclear as to who she was speaking with, the smoke from her neck turned darker. She wasn't sure if she should be angry or happy or what she should feel for that matter.

Celty watched as Ayame's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink and she got a mischievous grin on her face. The warmth in Shizuo's eyes and he looked at Ayame told Celty all she needed, or wanted for that matter, to know.

 _Never mind don't tell me!_ She quickly threw up her phone, _Also there's been something ringing off and on inside of this bag. I thought you lost your phone._

Celty held out the back pack and met Ayame's confused look as she opened the bag. "I lost it when I first got there...unless…" She dug through the bag until she felt something that resembled a phone and pulled it out. Her eyes twitched as she held the pink phone at arms length the word Princess was bedazzled in purple on the top.

At the moment a musical chiming came from the disgusting device Ayame held in her hand. She flipped open the phone, the words Queen appeared on the screen above a number she wasn't familiar with. The same was all she needed though so she answered the phone.

"What the hell is this thing." She leaned on the kitchen counter.

"A phone silly! What took you so long to answer princess? We were starting to get worried!" A feminine, but distinctly male, voice sounded over the speaker that was much too loud.

"I ran into a little trouble when I got here." She paused for a second and then smiled, "and then ran into Shizuo."

"Ooooh! Is he there?!"

"Yea." Ayame glanced over at Shizuo with a slightly concerned look on her face.

"Let me talk to him! Come on princess!"

Ayame sighed and held out the phone to Shizuo, who looked at it with confusion. "Go on he wants to talk to you and he's going to be annoying until he does."

"Hello?" The blonde was curious about this mystery male who apparently wanted to talk to him.

"So you're the famous Shizuo that Ayame never stopped talking about! Listing darling I have some information that I think you would love to hear."

"What's that?" Shizuo wasn't sure what to think of the voice on the other line.

"The little Princess ran into some trouble while she was here and one of our bouncers tracked down their head quarters. It seems that there is an interesting sale going on," There was a slight pause, "In about an hour just 10 minutes outside Ikeburkuro. Their boss is supposed to be there."

"Is that so? Where exactly is this?"

Ayame Shizuo's facial expressions very carefully unsure as to what to think about those 2 conversing. After a few minutes Shizuo closed the phone and handed it back to Ayame with a smile.

"I'll be back," he gave her a quick kiss. "Princess." with a smirk he ran out the door way passed a confused Celty.

"Don't you dare start calling me that too!" Ayame hoping she wouldn't be cursed with that name forever.

The girl who was lost and didn't care found herself caring much more than she thought was even possible. Her life was changed the moment she met the who dressed as a bartender but was not. The man, who thought the only thing he was good at was destroying things, found himself smiling at the thought that he was finally creating something. Two very different paths have now merged into one leading off into the same direction never to be separat again.


End file.
